Drows' Tale
by KA
Summary: The drow at their worst: a comedy about four mismatched drow and a precious artifact. Makes fun of drow & drow society, so beware.
1. Episode 1

Author's Note:

After re-reading this story a hundred times, I realized that the writing style of the very first chapters differs way too much from that of the more recent chapters (due to the fact that there's a multi-year gap between the first half of the story and the second).  In light of that realization, I've decided to revise/rewrite a few of the earlier chapters in order to satisfy myself and to remedy a particular situation that's been plaguing a few readers.  

Seems people have difficulty understanding (until the later chapters) that this story is supposed to be a huge satire that makes light of the Drow people; I think I understand why folks didn't catch on right off the bat (and it's entirely my fault, as back then I wasn't sure what I wanted to make the story into), and so I'm re-working a couple of the first chapters to better reflect the chosen comedy theme.

  EPISODE 1

                This time of year sucked.  It always did.  

                It sucked because it was the only time of the year when everyone in the family got to find out _exactly_ how low they sat in the matron's Family Chart of Loathing.  As a general rule, or so her children were bitterly convinced, matron Irrialishae hated everyone in her family equally; no one could ever do anything right, the House wasn't advancing as fast as it could (which was not at all), no replacement had yet been found for the Weapons Master lost decades ago, the view from the study balcony was dull, and there was never any candy in the house when she wanted some.  

                But besides that, one could say things were alright.

                Except at this time of year.

                Today was the Day of Duty, an ego-killing ceremony of sorts invented by Irrialishae during which she would assign to each of her offspring a demeaning chore or foolhardy quest, the shamefulness or irrelevancy of it directly proportional to how much she hated him or her at the time.  Despite the acute domestic cruelty and utter uselessness of the ceremony, none of Irrialishae's children dared to speak against it.

                Frankly, as long as no one else in Menzoberranzan knew about it, it didn't really matter.

                Least of all to Ka.

                The youngest sibling of Venorik'Z'ress, a diminutive psionicist with no sense of propriety, stood outside the antechamber door.  Her hands and ear pressed to the door, Ka strained to overhear the conversation going on inside between her mother and brother.

                "What?!"  Zojikoe fumed, his voice muffled.  "You've _got_ to be kidding me!"  Irrialishae's voice sounded then; it was flat and unimpressed, as always.

                "Too damn bad, Zoe."  She replied.  "_Someone's _got to do it."  There was heavy sigh here, which was distinctly Zojikoe's.

                "I've got studies, matron!"  He countered, slightly whiny.  "I don't have _time_ for this.  It could take _days_!"  Irrialishae snorted.

                "This is my care face, Zoe."  There was a pause.  At the door, Ka chuckled; she could almost _feel _her brother's frustration.

                It was funny.

                "Matron…inventory?  But I'm not even allowed to _touch _anything in the chapel!"  Zojikoe pleaded.  There came the sound of fabric rustling and Irrialishae's voice drew nearer to the door.

                "Well then, you'd best get started quick!"  She urged almost pleasantly, running her son over.  There was more rustling from inside, faster now.  Zoe was mumbling. 

                Startled, Ka hurried away from the door and plopped down on one of the small chairs lining the wall to her left.  She slouched down in her seat and put on a dazed expression so as to look as though she'd been zoned out through the meeting and not actually eavesdropping.

                Not that it mattered.  Everybody in the House listened in on everyone else's conversations anyway.

                The antechamber door slammed open and Zojikoe came tearing out looking like murder.  A steady stream of recognizable swear words flowed from the young mage's lips as he strode into the hallway, robes and hair billowing out behind him as he went.  Ka made no effort to hide her grin when he looked over at her.

                He knew she'd been listening.

                "Don't worry, Zoe."  She mocked.  "Candle counting is _fun_!"  Zojikoe narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace, disappearing down the hall.  Ka looked after him and raised her voice.  "You'll have hours and hours of intense pleasure!"  She called to his rapidly retreating back.  Once he turned the corner, she cackled smugly and sat back in her chair.

                She'd been the candle-counter the year before, and the year before _that_, and it felt good to see her brother assigned to what she had begun to believe was the worst thing their mother could ask of them.

                "You think you're funny?"  Matron Irrialishae's voice snapped from the antechamber door.  With a yelp, Ka sat bolt upright and turned abruptly to face her mother; the chair under her tipped with the sudden motion and threatened to teeter over, then settled itself back on the floor with an echoing thud.  Ka offered her mother a sedate smile.

                "Yes."  She answered.  Irrialishae looked displeased.

                "You know, sometimes, I dream of killing you all in your sleep."  She said with an idle blink.  Though the matron was looking _at_ her, Ka was pretty sure she was actually seeing something – or some_one_ else.

                "Is this about me not being a priestess again?"  Ka asked dully.  Irrialishae continued to stare blankly at her.

                "But then I think that maybe, just maybe, it'd be more _exciting _if I take you all to the surface and wait for the sun to carbonize your miserable asses all at once."  She went on.  Ka raised an eyebrow and shifted in her chair.

                "Listen, I'm beginning to think it was a _bad_ idea to trade my place in line with Zoe…"  She pondered aloud, eyeing the other drowess.  Irrialishae sighed discontentedly and shook her head.

                "I wish Zojikoe would have been a female."  She mused.  "Then I would have had _four_ daughters."  Ka furrowed her brow.

                "You have three."  She interjected.  "You don't need four.  Why would you want four?"  A sick little smile lit up the matron's face then, and Ka felt the incoming momentum of an offensive comment.  

                As expected, it came.

                "To make up for the one I screwed up."  Irrialishae replied scathingly and smiled a poisonous smile down at her daughter.  Ka's expression didn't change; she shrugged a shoulder.

                "Hey, thanks."  She droned.  "That really makes me want to keep breathing."  Irrialishae winked, but there was no camaraderie in the gesture.

                "No problem."  She replied.  "Just lowering your self esteem."  She motioned to the door behind her.  "Shall we?"  She asked.  Ka got up and brushed herself off, then followed the matron into the antechamber beyond.

                The antechamber was not all that impressive, but it was still there that the ever-envious matron of Venorik'Z'ress invested all of her time pretending to be a Baenre.  At the very end of the room, on a raised dais, sat Irrialishae's ebon-stone throne, jeweled and draped with rich fabrics; a plush red carpet lead up to the dais, covering the polished and reflective surface of the stone floor beneath; tapestries depicting the House emblem and some religious markings lined the walls on either side.

                Ka stopped just inside the door and watched her matron make her way down the carpet and climb up into the throne.  _Someday_, she mused quietly, _someday it'll be _me_ climbing up onto that throne and telling my kids that I want to take them to the surface to burn them._  She thought about that for a moment, then nodded to herself and smiled.  _Sweet…_

                "I've got something challenging planned for you this year."  Irrialishae started, ignoring the wistful look on her daughter's face.  She always assumed that Ka wasn't listening; she didn't understand psionics or Ka or a _psionic_ Ka, but she was pretty sure she didn't like the idea.  She'd decided long ago, in order to save herself from avid paranoia, that Ka was neither clever nor gifted, but rather brain-dead and harmless.  

                It was easier that way.

                And she had devised a similar logic for Zojikoe.

                Ka blinked.  "Like what?"  She asked.  "Is it monsters?"  Irrialishae shook her head.

                "No.  It's not monsters."  She replied.  Ka narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

                "Is it monsters?"  She repeated.  Irrialishae frowned.

                "No!"  She cried.  "I told you that already."  Ka's eyes were slits now.

                "It's monsters isn't it?"  She went on.  "Listen, I can't–"  She meant to continue but her matron cut her off.

                "For the love of _Lloth_, Ka, I said it it's _not_ monsters!"  She roared, smashing her fist down on the armrest of her throne.  Ka drew back at the outburst, then composed herself and inclined her head pleasantly.

                "Good."  She piped cheerily, smiling now.  Up ahead, Irrialishae sighed and rolled her eyes.

                "I want you to find me the Kyrashar Rose."  She said at last.  She wasn't sure why it was that she expected Ka to already know what the Rose was, but she immediately regretted not explaining it right away when Ka nodded and dropped her gaze to the side in thought.  It was painfully clear to her what Ka was thinking: as soon as their meeting was over, she was positive that Ka would disappear into the streets in search of flower gardens to pilfer.  "It's a rose made of crystal that was created by Lloth and some other lesser deity.  It's _not_ a plant."  She explained quickly and Ka looked back up at her.  "It's a proven weapon against the faeries and I want it."

                "Did you make that up?"  Ka asked, shifting her weight to one foot and burying her hands in the pockets of her overcoat.  Irrialishae's eyes flashed.

                "You wanna lose some teeth, Ka?"  She shot back viciously and, across the room, her daughter avoided her gaze.  "I didn't make it up, you maggot.  It _exists_.  It's supposedly up north in the Ice Caves, which is where you'll be going tomorrow morning."  Ka frowned.

                "What?"  She snapped.  "Just like that?"  She looked around idly, appealing to the inanimate carvings and colorful banners around the room.  "How many guys can I bring?"  Irrialishae examined her fingernails.

                "None."  Came the pert reply.  "I don't have people to spare, you know.  What if we get attacked while you're away?"  She raised an eyebrow at Ka.  Ka's expression was one of deep resentment.

                "Oh poo."  She drawled.  "Then I guess you'll have to rely on my superstar sisters to save your ass, now won't you?"  Silence fell between the two females as Irrialishae considered killing Ka in her sleep and Ka considered stealing flowers from neighboring Houses as a career.  Finally, Irrialishae cleared her throat.

                "No guys.  You can grab some potions and food and weapons–"  She started, waving her hand dismissively in the general direction of the storerooms, but Ka cut her off.

                "Weapons?  Matron!"  She cried, horrified.  "I can't even spear the meat in my plate!  You've _got_ to allow me one solider."  She held up a finger.  "Just one.  Come on…"  Irrialishae smirked.

                "Mmmm…no."  She teased, leaning back comfortably in her jeweled throne.  Ka whimpered.

                "But there'll be _monsters_!"  She pleaded.  Still, however, the matron would not be swayed.

                "No."  She repeated.  Ka heaved a sigh and took a moment to resign herself to death.  She'd venture out past patrol group range come the next morning, and then she'd find a patch of surly myconids that're just _waiting _for a lone drow to wander into their midst, and then she'd be killed.

                By mushrooms, no less.  Right outside the city limits, too.

                "Well,"  Ka mumbled under her breath, "it could be worse.  I could be counting candles."  She nodded at the logic and returned her attention to her mother.  "Do you have a map?"  She asked.  Irrialishae waved her hand again.

                "I can dig one up for you, I'm sure."  She replied casually, staring off into space.  Ka mimicked the hand gesture.

                "So…do you want me to come _back_ at all, or…?"  She asked, though it wasn't really a question.  Irrialishae jerked out of her daze.

                "Mm?  Oh."  She shrugged.  "No, no.  Just leave tomorrow morning."  Ka blinked.

                "That's not what I meant."  She grumbled, then rolled her eyes and whirled around to face the door.  "Never mind..."  She pushed with her shoulder and slipped outside into the hall.

***

                 "Well at least you get to _go_ somewhere."  Zojikoe opted, taking a large, wet ladle from Ka's hand and drying it roughly with the dish towel.  Dinner that night had turned into a disaster shortly after Zoe and Ka's elder sisters had made it known that their assigned tasks that year were to spy on the neighbors and to shoplift some new slaves.  Offended that their tasks were not as inane or debasing as his own, Zojikoe had taken something of a fit at the table and, as a result, Irrialishae had told him to let the cook off early and do the dishes in his stead.  Ka wasn't sure _why_ she was also 'volun-told' to do the dishes, but she figured it was because she was sitting beside Zoe at the time of his outburst, and as such was likely held accountable for it in one way or another in Irrialishae's head.

                "Zoe,"  Ka replied, plunging her hand into the steaming water basin, her fingers searching around the bottom for stray utensils, "it's not what you think.  I'm going after something that probably doesn't even exist.  I'm ready to bet any money that Irrialishae just wants me dead."  Zojikoe was not convinced.

                "It's an adventure!"  He cried.  "What if it's _not_ bullshit and you actually _find_ this thing?"  He grinned.  "We could be rich!"  At this Ka laughed and dropped a handful of soaked forks into her brother's hands.

                "_I_ could be rich, you mean."  She corrected.  "Assuming I don't die ten feet from the city gates and the Rose actually exists – and I tell you what, Zoe, that's some _pretty big_ assuming –  then like hell I'm gonna give it merrily over to the matron."  She flashed her brother a smile and Zoe gave her a dull look.

                "Yeah, right."  He snorted.  "And where are you gonna go after you sell it?  Living it up in the slums?  Bregan D'aerthe?"  He paused, then with added sarcasm, added "Oh wait!  I know!  The surface!"  Ka's smile dropped and she went back to rummaging around in the water.

                "You're a _champion_, Zoe."  She grumbled bitterly.  "A goddess-damned _champ_."  She fished out a plate and handed it off to her brother without looking.  "On the upside, it's nice to know that Irrialishae hates you _the most _this year.  I was beginning to think I'd be doing chapel inventory for the rest of my life!"  She gave a short, dry laugh.  "Hey!"  She drew back with a splash as Zojikoe's towel whipped by her face, nearly connecting with her cheek.

                "I'm not laughing, Ka!"  He snapped moodily and glared at his sister.  "I always thought the matron rather liked me…but I guess I was wrong."  Ka coughed.

                "You usually are."  She added snidely.  Zoe narrowed his eyes and raised his towel menacingly.

                "Shut up."  He hissed and Ka shrank back, pointing .

                "Hey!  Female!  Female!  I'll tell!"  She tried, then, realizing that no one would care, she went back to the water basin.  Zojikoe looked pleased.  They remained silent for a short while as they worked, until finally Zojikoe spoke up.  His eyes followed the small ruby pendant dangling idly from Ka's throat as she bent over the basin, scrubbing at an old pot.

                "It probably pisses Irrialishae off to see that."  He said.  Ka, inherently aware of what he was talking about, shrugged.

                "Don't care."  She quipped.  "She can be pissed off at it all she likes, but I'm still not taking it off."  She resisted the sudden urge to clamp her hand over the small jewel.  It had been a gift from her father, who'd died in a street scuffle back when she and Zojikoe were both small children.  The male had betrayed the House shortly before his death, but prior to that he'd informed Zoe and Ka of his intentions and had made many promises that Ka still clung to.  Seeing the pendant probably _did_ drive the matron mad, what with it being a reminder of her family's ill loyalty.

                "And then you wonder why she sends you off to get killed…"  Zojikoe mused cynically, shaking his head.  Ka's eyebrows arched.

                "Oh, I never wondered.  I'm just kinda shocked is all."  Her tone was of the utmost calm.  She paused.  "So, I hear that kid from House Freth got better marks than you in divination."  She grinned and Zojikoe swore.

                "I don't wanna talk about it."  Came the mage's indignant reply.

***

                The next morning came too fast.  Ka woke up with the intention of packing a backpack for her 'adventure' north, but she found one already done up and ready unceremoniously dropped by her bedroom door.  There was a small note tacked to the front of it.

                "What the hell…?"  Ka mumbled and rolled out of bed, her feet landing on the cold stone floor.  She trudged over to the door, crouched down beside the overstuffed bag and gingerly pulled the note free.  The writing on the small paper carried the distinct flare of Zojikoe's hand.

                "'_Too bad your ass got sacked.'_"  She read.  For a moment, she just stared at the note, then, she raised her gaze and stared blankly at the door.  Narrowing her eyes, she crumpled the note in her fist.

                "Bastard."  She spat and threw the note over her shoulder.  If her brother wanted to be a jerk, then he could – it wasn't as though she'd be there much longer anyway.  That decided, she got up and padded back to get dressed.

                When she finally stepped out into the hallway, the backpack slung over her shoulder causing her to tip slightly to one side, she found it strangely deserted.  Normally, in the morning, people would be buzzing about for one reason or another, but today there was not a single soul aside from her for as far as she could see.

                She wondered briefly if perhaps the matron had ordered everyone to leave the house and make a break for the bazaar, just to give that wonderful 'we love you' feel to her going away hour, but then her hopes were dashed.

                A cry sounded from one level below, and that cry was instantly followed by a cacophony of other voices.  Mainly female.

                Ka made her way downstairs to the common room and found just about every family member and slave in the house gathered around a large statue of what appeared to be a dwarven miner.  At the group's forefront stood Irrialishae, her hands on her hips and a look of exquisite disgust painted on her face.

                "It looks like _ass_."  She spat, motioning to the statue and turning her head to look at someone that Ka couldn't quite see from her current position.  That same someone, whose beaded hair was the only thing Ka could make out, spoke up.

                "You said dwarf!"  He defended himself, his voice was high and irritating.  Ka sighed.

                "I said _drow_!"  Irrialishae roared.  "_Drow, _you invalid!"  Ka shook her head and quietly snuck around the large mob, making her way to the front door.  Perhaps she could make it outside without having to speak to anyone at all…

                Or perhaps not.

                As she neared the exit, her eyes fell upon Zojikoe, who was leaning placidly against the door, watching her.  She strode up to him and halted, giving him a most unimpressed look.

                "Move."  She ordered.  He didn't.

                "Aren't you gonna thank me for the bag?"  He asked innocently.  Ka smiled briefly then drove her knuckles into his shoulder.

                "Thanks."  She growled.  Zoe clutched his bruised shoulder and inched out of the way, allowing Ka access to the door.  The drowess pulled the elegant handle and peered outside, then turned to look at her brother quizzically.  "Well?"  She asked.  "Aren't you gonna say good luck or something?  I could die out there, you know."  Zojikoe put on the dullest look he could muster.

                "This is my care face."  He drawled, much like his mother had done the day before.  Ka narrowed her eyes at him and stalked out, slamming the door behind her. 


	2. Episode 2

EPISODE 2

                Rose Velve'Pa'Das watched with mild interest as the members of her family filed one by one through the doors of the Matron's room and came back out again, refusing to meet her gaze. A chill smile lit her lips. They knew. They knew what was about to happen, but none of them knew what the results would be. That suited Rose fine. She watched as her youngest sister, Kirisstind, strode confidently through the doors, directing a malevolent look in the older Priestess's direction. Rose smiled coldly at Kirisstind but the smile faded the instant the younger Drow was through the door.

                Something was up, and Rose didn't like it.

                But as the hours passed, her nervousness about Kirisstind's glare faded and impatience set in. It hadn't taken her mother this long to assign the others their tasks for the year, what was taking her so long with Kirisstind?

                She jumped at the feeling of something rough and wet against her hand. Startled, she looked down into the luminous yellow eyes of Slayer, the pet panther she had found on a trip she had taken out of the Underdark and up to the surface in the last war they had waged against the faerie people. Smiling slightly, she gently rubbed the black panther's ears.

                "Hello there, Slayer," she said lightly. "Feeling lonely, were you? Don't let the others catch you though, alone without me. I don't know if you've noticed but they don't take all that kindly to you." Slayer purred deeply in answer and rubbed his head up against Rose's robes.

                "Disgusting animal," sneered a sickeningly familiar voice. "I don't know why you bother keeping it." Rose continued to scratch Slayer for a moment more before bothering to reply. She got slowly to her feet and drew herself up to her full height (a good six inches more than Kirisstind) and glared down at her sister.

                "He may be an animal," she said coldly, "but he's better company than some of the people around here." A spider-shaped knife flashed in Rose's hand and was gone again as fast as it had appeared. "Now get lost, before I decide you're no longer useful." Kirisstind's eyes flashed with malice, but she knew she was outmatched - for the moment at least. She backed down and turned to stalk away.

                "Ah, ah, ah, Kirisstind!" Rose called after her. "You should know better than to take leave of a higher-ranking priestess with such disrespect." Kirisstind turned and glared at her.

                "My apologies, Priestess of Lloth," she said bitingly, bowing low. "I hope you can forgive me." She added something under her breath that Rose couldn't quite catch and stood glaring at Rose for a long moment until she realized that Slayer was glaring at her and growling low in his throat, standing protectively in front of Rose.

                "Dismissed," Rose said simply, turning her back in a whirl of black robes and entering their mother's chambers. Kirisstind stood glaring after her and her panther as they walked through the doors. Almost idly she pulled a long, slender knife out of her sleeve and raised the blade in front of her face.

                "I will enjoy my task for this year I think," she told the knife. "I will enjoy it very much indeed."

                Forgetting about Kirisstind for the moment, she had far more important things on her mind, Rose advanced confidently through the doors to the Matron's room, studying the interior around her and making a list of changes that would have to be made.

                "Taking stock already I see," said a cold voice from the back of the room. Rose turned her attention to the large throne at the back of the room. It was carved of ebony and slightly resembled a spider in its design. A chill smile flickered across Rose's face.

                _And it's just my size too, she thought to herself.  She at last turned her attention away from the throne to the woman sitting on it. She was a tall and imposing Drowess, who bore a striking resemblance to Rose. A finely chiseled face that looked as though it had been set in stone was framed by thick white hair that fell in waves around it. Her eyes were narrowed at the moment and she glared at Rose challengingly. "I am not dead yet, Rose," she said plainly._

                "You will be," Rose replied. "Unless you're willing to abdicate to me without a fight." The Matron gave a short burst of laughter.

                "Not likely," she said. "The throne of House Velve'Pa'Das is mine. And it will be as long as I am breathing."

                "You have run this House into the ground!" Rose snapped angrily. "Because of your ineptitude we are still only the fifteenth House of Ched Nasad! You are weak! I," she added harshly, "am not. Your time as Matron is up, mother." Coming from Rose's lips, the word sounded like an insult. "I hope you've made your peace with Lloth." A cold, cruel smile split the Matron's face and for an instant it was impossible to tell the two apart.

                "We shall see who needs to make their peace," she spat each word as though they were dripping with venom and could themselves rid her of her troublesome daughter. "It was a mistake to let you live this long."

                "It was not you who let me . . ." Rose had no more than the soft sound of a footfall as warning of the attack. Reacting instantly, she whirled around and to the side, just as a dagger flew from Kirisstind's hand toward her heart. Her quick reflexes, though they had saved her life, failed to save her from the dagger's metal blade. It sank deeply into her shoulder. She cried out and fell against a wall, clutching her arm.

                "You missed!" The Matron cried, leaping up from her position on the throne. A glittering knife fell from her sleeve into her hand. "Oh well." Her eyes glittered malevolently down at Rose. "If you want something done right . . ." She raised her hand to let the dagger fly, but Rose was faster. She ripped the dagger out of her arm and threw it with her left hand at her mother. Her aim was off and instead of hitting the heart, it just grazed the Matron's wrist, but it was enough to make her drop the knife. Rose noticed with a sudden rising of panic that Kirisstind was again advancing on her. She couldn't take them both on at once. She quickly fitted two fingers to her lips and whistled sharply.

                "Slayer!" She cried. "Help!" With a ferocious growl the panther came bounding out of the darkness, landing with a flying leap on top of Matron Velve'Pa'Das, who hardly had time to scream before the panther began ripping at her with claws and teeth. Kirisstind watched with an insane grin as the panther destroyed her mother.

                "Now," she said, turning back to Rose. "You are the only one who stands in the way of my becoming Matron!" She pulled another hidden dagger out. "Once I've gotten rid of you . . ." Rose reached down to her boot and pulled a knife out of it.

                "You're insane, Kirisstind," she snarled. "You think the others will follow you? There are two other females in line ahead of you. They're older and more powerful. You think they'll follow you if I die?" The cold cruel smile reappeared on Rose's face. "No, I think you're as good as dead if I die. There'll be no one left to protect you."

                "I need no protection!" Kirisstind screamed, throwing herself at the older Drowess. Rose laughed suddenly and stepped to the side of the wild attack. She brought her own knife out and Kirisstind, unable to stop or even slow her charge, impaled herself upon it.

                "You're weak," she hissed. "Like she was." She gestured towards the still screaming Matron. "I'd like to see you survive this wound. But just in case you do . . ." Her smile grew larger and she ripped the knife violently out of Kirisstind's stomach, bringing it up in a slashing motion. The blade ripped in a diagonal line across Kirisstind's once beautiful face. "I'll leave you something to remember me by." Kirisstind choked and fell to the ground. Rose laughed shortly and started to take a step forward but paused as a wave of dizziness passed over her.

                "What . . ." Her eyes fell on Kirisstind's knife. "Poison . . ." Her head snapped up as the doors suddenly slammed open and the other two females of the Velve'Pa'Das family exploded into the room.

                "Rose! What . . ." Their eyes widened when they spotted the carnage in the room. The tattered corpse of their mother, Slayer's bloodied muzzle, Kirisstind's sobbing form. All eyes turned to Rose who swayed slightly on her feet. 

                "You succeeded in killing her then," said one of the women. Laughter suddenly rippled from her lips. "But it seems that we succeeded as well. If I'm not mistaken, I do believe you've been poisoned." Rose glared in astonishment at her sister.

                "You planned this?!" She demanded, falling to her knees weakly beside Kirisstind. "You double crossed me!"

                "We double crossed everyone," replied the other sister. "We knew you'd face off against Mother eventually. So we took steps." She indicated Kirisstind. "Even poor Kirisstind there fit perfectly into our little plot." Rose shook her head in disbelief and tried to clear her mind of the poison's effects.

                "You've got about two more minutes to live there, Rose," hissed the first sister. "Before that poison takes you out." Rose grit her teeth and feel to her hands and knees, her strength rapidly fading. I won't be beaten this easily, she swore to herself. I won't!! Something glinting in Kirisstind's pocket suddenly cut through the fog in her head. She reached out weakly and picked it up. It was a small bottle filled with an amber liquid.

                "No!" Cried the first sister. "That's the . . ."

                "Antidote," finished Rose with a smile. Before they could react, she snapped the top off and downed the whole bottle. The first sister glared at her and snapped a knife out of the sheath at her belt.

                "Fine," she said. "I'll just kill you the old fashioned way."

                "Not today," said the second.

                "What . . ." The first had only managed to turn halfway around before her sister's dagger ripped through her heart. She gasped and toppled to the ground, an expression of surprise and hatred etched on her face. The sister that was still living started laughing insanely.

                "Now," she cried, "I will be Matron!! No one can stand in my . . ." She was cut off as Rose's knife suddenly protruded from her throat. She fell to the ground with a gurgled cry.

                "Fool," Rose snapped. "You always were a fool. You talk too much." She looked into her sister's now vacant eyes. "And now you won't ever talk again." She looked up at a startled cry from the doorway and looked into her uncle's startled eyes.

                "Wait!" She cried, but it was too late. He took off at a dead run, shouting the news through the halls of the House. She glared after him. "Dammit! That idiot male! Now everyone will know! That means . . ." Her face paled slightly. Once the higher up houses found out about this, they'd descend upon House Velve'Pa'Das by night fall! She knew the Matrons of the other Houses considered her a threat and they would waste no time eliminating her while she was weak.

                "Well," she said, glancing down at Slayer who peered up at her worriedly. "We just won't let them find me, now will we?" She glanced around at all the bodies littering the floor. "House Velve'Pa'Das is no longer." She quickly considered her options and realized that leaving, quietly, in the middle of the night, was her best bet. If the other Houses caught her, she'd be killed for sure. But if she left now, without anyone knowing, when House Velve'Pa'Das was attacked, it wouldn't be a clean swipe. She could return at a later date and take revenge against those who had destroyed her House and be adopted by another, more powerful House.

                "That's it then," she told Slayer. "That's what we'll do." Waiting until she had regained some her strength, she struggled to her feet and shook her head as the poison's effects loosed their hold on her. "Come on Slayer. Let's go."

                She was gone by sunset, and by sunrise, so was House Velve'Pa'Das.


	3. Episode 3

EPISODE 3

                Two weeks after Ka's departure from Venorik'Z'ress, Zojikoe found himself sitting alone in the chapel, counting healing salves. He had only begun his 'appointed task' a few days ago and, ever since that time, he considered himself tortured. Why did Matron Irrialishe send Ka to the ice caves? Why her and not him? After all, he _was older, more informed, __and more accustomed to out-of-House missions... Yet he's the one who remained home to write up the chapel inventory while his little sister was out walking the Underdark!_

                Idly he sat atop the altar (if his mother saw him do that she'd have a heart attack...) and flipped open the dusty lid of a box that he had pulled out of an old cupboard. Inside the box was a bunch of old leather straps and belts designed for tying down an unwilling sacrifice to the altar; half-heartedly, he pulled at one of the straps in order to free it and begin the count of the other items inside, however the strap was tightly wound up with all the others in a large, tangled ball. Zojikoe closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

            "Oh for Goddess' sakes..." He mumbled sourly and dropped the ball back into the box, closed the lid firmly and threw it off to the side in irritation. "I can't do this." The young mage moaned to himself, his voice echoing off the walls. He buried his face in his hands and thought for a moment. Surely there was a way to get out of this predicament...he didn't _really_ have to do inventory, did he? There _HAD_ to be something else for him to do...

            He looked up from his hands and a slow smile crept onto his lips. "I'm just gonna get the hell out of here." He reasoned out loud. "I'm gonna go after Ka...sure she won't like it, but if I stay here I'll kill myself..." He chuckled cynically at the thought of the ball of straps he had found in the old box. "Oh yes, I'm leaving right now." He jumped down from the altar and hastily made his way out into the halls beyond.  
  


***

  
                By all appearances, Zojikoe was making a short trip to Sorcere in order to pick up some items that he needed. In reality, he was going out the way Ka had left -- through the gates behind the Academy. He knew very well where the ice caves were and, seeing as there was only one path that lead there, he figured he could catch up with his sister in a reasonable amount of time.

                Zojikoe pulled his piwafwi tighter around him and chuckled to himself as he mounted the stairs leading up to Tier Breche. He was imagining Ka in a ditch somewhere, all bruised and cut up and starving...if not dead. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in his sister's abilities, it was just that he didn't think she could fend for herself in the wilds of the Underdark. This thought troubled him, as it made him wonder, once again, why the Matron had chosen Ka for the adventure North...

                The Academy was quiet this time of day so Zojikoe was not likely to meet anyone he knew...not that it mattered if he did. He rounded Sorcere and came around the back, then headed for the gates about a hundred feet away. The gates were guarded by magical stone spiders that came to life if a non-drow passed through without an escort; the young mage slipped through without a sound and the giant spiders did not move. 

                Once through the ward statues, Zojikoe glanced over his shoulder. "Forgive me, Irrialishe." He whispered and set off into the patrol caves beyond.

  
***

  
                However, Ka was far from in the ditch and starving. 

                She had learned to ration her food supply extraordinarily well and had managed to eat a bit of something twice a day for the whole two weeks she had been gone. Everything was actually just fine and dandy for the youngest member of Venorik'Z'ress; sure she didn't sleep very well at night, but other than that, things were going smoothly.

                Matron Irrialishe's map, given to Ka before her departure, was actually very accurate. Ka made good time, or so she figured, since her departure. She had to admit, though, that her pace hadn't been affected by any obstacles of any kind...she encountered a grand total of one creature that she remembered from the picture book she had flipped through the night before leaving the House. The creature was a large bird common to the Underdark; she had never seen a thing quite like the bird, but upon seeing it for the first time, she spent no more than five seconds eyeing it as it pecked away at the moss between rocks on the cavern wall.

                In the middle of her second week of travel, Ka crossed a drow caravan. Although she stayed out of their way, she could tell that they were slave traders; with them they carried several chained and battered members of various Underdark races. She never knew that her people actually _went out_ and looked for slaves...

  
***

  
                By the second week, Ka was forced to sing to herself in order to calm the urge to scream. The boredom, as she had predicted, was becoming an overwhelming force. She blessed the fact that she hadn't run into any horrible creatures like bulettes, but sometimes she caught herself wishing she might encounter something of the type around the next bend.

                It was now the middle of the week, and Ka was submerged in an old folk battle song. "...lu' lil Quarvalsharess tuth ogglin lueth abbil esaph brorna ussa xuil ilta z'ress --" She sang loudly, then, giggling added conceitedly, "--USSTA Z'ress!!" In an even louder, out-of tune lyric change. Her voice echoed off the walls and it suddenly hit her that if anyone was overhearing this, she would be very embarrassed...and very dead if the listener was hungry. 

                Ka paused and looked behind her -- no one. She smiled and waited a moment to see if she could hear any tell-tale signs of life creeping up on her. When she heard nothing, she laughed raucously and pumped her fist in the air, "Lueth Z'ress del Qu'elar Venorik'Z'ress!!!" She cried enthusiastically, adding yet another lyric into the old battle song.

                Ahead of her, the cavern made a sharp turn to the left. Ka's heart beat faster every time she encountered one of these blind turns, because she never knew what to expect when rounding the corner. Sure it was a childish anxiety, but it kept her senses alert..._and_ it alleviated the constant boredom for a few seconds.

                Humming to herself now, Ka drew closer to the cavern wall as a safety measure. She grazed the stone surface with her fingertips, leaving heat tracks that her infrared vision could pick up. A rough cut in the cavern wall caught her attention and she stopped to examine it. The cut was not a natural indentation, but rather a man-made anomaly. She blinked and saw something within the stone niche glitter. 

                Ka rolled her eyes; as much as she was attracted to shiny things, she wasn't about to stick her fingers into a niche that could harbor a venomous creature. She smiled.  "If Zoe were here, I'd ask _him to stick his fingers in there..." She mumbled to herself and sighed. The cut in the wall was obviously the work of a pickaxe...it seemed that the deep gnomes were at work again, sticking their picks where they shouldn't._

                Leaving the sparkling niche behind, Ka continued on towards the sharp bend in the path. Eyeing the turn, Ka began to sing again; in her belly, the anxious feeling was taking shape. As she always had done before making a blind turn (even in her own house when she was small), Ka opened her mind an scanned the area around the bend. If anything possessing a brain was there in silent waiting, Ka would know and would most likely send a deadly psychic blast in its direction, killing the creature on impact. 

                She had tested the strength of her direct mental attack force a few times before, and she had found that she could easily kill anything with a mental capacity ranging from an insect to a young child. She had tested her powers during a surface raid half a few decades ago -- it had been a birthday gift from her eldest sister; in the magical guise of a male student of Melee Magthere, Ka had made the trip to the surface world with a graduating class of warriors. She had showed off to her sister by killing a trio of surface elves in less than two minutes. When her prowess was made known to her mother, Ka suddenly gained more respect...

                If the target was more intelligent, Ka would not be able to kill in one shot. It was comparable to bulk and constitution for the average warrior: the bigger and fitter they are, the more hits they can take. In Ka's case, the more intelligent they are, the more likely it would be that they'd offer resistance. In those cases, Ka simply got more creative...

                Since the beginning of her trip, every time Ka had mentally scanned the area around a blind corner she had found nothing...well, insects, but nothing else. It was nice...but it grew irritating after a bit.

                However, this time, Ka's mind settled upon something smarter than your average insect.

                Instantly, her heart skipped a beat. Her singing cut off suddenly, and she extended the velvet fingers of her mind in order to get a better 'description' of what lay beyond the bend. The mind she searched belonged to a fellow drow...a drowess to be exact. Ka frowned...she picked up no other intelligent life around the one female mind...this was odd. A female? Alone? Ka promptly reminded herself that _she was a female __and that she was alone as well, and indignantly returned to her searching. The female was troubled about something that Ka did not bother to make out..._

                Ahead, the sharp bend drew nearer and Ka's breathing became alarmingly heavy. The as of yet unseen female's footsteps were silent, of course, but Ka could have sworn that they were slowing down...the new drowess' mind was aware of another being's presence prodding at her consciousness and wasn't sure what to think. 

                The air felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds as Ka crept to the edge of the bend and drew in a deep breath. When she finally decided herself to peek around the corner, she came face-to-face with the mysterious drowess, who had, as if on cue, also peeked around the corner at the same time.

                Surprised at the stranger's unexpected proximity, Ka screamed and backed away, pressing her back against the cave wall. The strange drowess did the exact same, her shriek complimenting Ka's in a nervous crescendo. 

                Ka closed her eyes tight and mentally berated herself for being such a baby...and then, as if to add to the anxiety of the moment, a hand tapped her shoulder. She whipped her head to the side and there stood another yet _another drow! Letting out a second scream, Ka jumped away from the cave wall and stood a few feet away from the corner; she clumsily felt around her boots for the daggers that she had hidden there._

                "Ka!" A voice cried.  Ka managed to free a dagger from her boot but then fumbled it horribly and dropped it to the floor with a loud clang. Recognizing the voice that called out to her, she looked to the corner wall and her eyes fell upon the familiar robed figure of her brother. 

                "Zojikoe!" She cried in surprise, then, when she realized that he was supposed to be at home counting candles, she frowned. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She barked angrily.

                Before the mage could answer, the mysterious drowess re-appeared from around the corner with a hand to her heaving chest. She was a priestess...no doubt about that; she was taller than Ka by a few inches but had the same build. She wore beautiful robes and her thick, slightly-curling hair was bejeweled with an obsidian spider-tiara. Her features were fine and her eyes bore the usual, rock-solid look of a hardened, Llothian priestess. 

                The drowess took a few steps out into the open, then narrowed her eyes at Ka and started for her.  "YOU!" She cried angrily and pointed at Ka. "You were..." She made a gesture with her hand near her head, "..._messing_ with my mind!!!" She accused ominously and halted before Ka, crossing her arms over her chest.  Ka remained speechless a moment, and then leaned to the side to look past the angry drowess and shot her brother a queer look. 

                "She's alone in the Underdark and she still manages to be all high-and-mighty!" She commented dryly, thumbing over at the newcomer. Zojikoe blinked idly and shrugged. The priestess spun around to see who Ka was speaking to, then returned her attention to the psionicist. 

                "Is that your slave?" She asked with a sneer. Ka grinned and blew a strand of loose hair out of her eyes. 

                "Not quite..." She answered thoughtfully. "He's my brother." She winked over at her sibling, then looked up into the other drowess' eyes. "And who are you, missy?" She asked pertly. The drowess raised her chin.

                "Rose of Velve'Pa'Das." She answered indignantly, "You?" Ka smirked and absent-mindedly rubbed her temple. 

                "Ka of Venorik'Z'ress, 15th House of Menzoberranzan." She replied curtly, then gave the drowess, Rose, a challenging look. "What rank is _your_ House?" She asked. She knew she sounded childish, but she couldn't help herself. Rose mumbled something. 

                "15th." Came her barely-audible reply. Ka rolled her eyes. 

                "Yay." She grumbled...there go the bragging rights. As if to lighten the awkward mood, Ka's brother stepped up to the two drowesses and grinned, then dropped into a low bow before Rose. 

                "Vendui Jabress," He greeted her formally. "I am Zojikoe." He drew himself up to his full height and put on a proud look. "You really must excuse my sister's behavior...being out in the wilds has done nothing to sharpen her wit." He remarked coldly. Ka's jaw dropped and she gave her brother a hard stare.

                "Zoe...that was a _big_ mistake!" She hissed through clenched teeth. "I warned you about the brain-jokes. I'm just gonna wait until you sleep tonight..." She threatened darkly and looked to Rose once more. "So...what are _you doing out here creeping up on helpless people?" She asked off-handedly. Rose's face darkened. _

                "Family trouble..." She gave Ka an 'I don't want to talk about it' look and smiled thinly to Zojikoe. "Vendui' Zojikoe." She replied to his earlier greeting., "What brings you and your sister out here alone?" She asked him then. Ka cleared her throat loudly and interceded. 

                "_I" She spat the word, "am on a mission to the Northern ice caves." She narrowed her eyes at Zoe. "But I don't know what _he_ is doing here." She gave her brother's shoulder a sharp push. "Why don't you tell us, Zoe? Huh?" She pushed him again. "Tell us." Her eyes burned with displeasure. Zojikoe promptly brushed his shoulder off and stepped to the side, away from Ka's reach._

                 "I decided to join my sister..." He smiled a false smile at the drowess in question, "... because I felt she might need backup." He turned to Rose and his smile lost its artificial sheen. "Were you headed anywhere in particular before Ka ambushed you?" He asked her kindly; to the side, Ka gritted her teeth. Rose thought for a moment. 

                "No." She answered, somewhat embarrassed. "I wasn't really going anywhere...just..._away_ from Ched Nasad for a bit." She managed a genuine smile, her first since she had met the two siblings. Ka's eyes widened.

                 "Ched Nasad?" She echoed. "You're a long way from home!" She cried and bent to pick up the dagger that she had attempted to use earlier on. She heard Rose sigh and, after picking up her blade, looked to the priestess thoughtfully, "Wanna join me and Zoe then?" She proposed, "We're going to the ice caves in search of the Kyrashar Rose...I don't know if you've heard about it, but I'm sure that if you haven't, Zoe can fill you in on the way." She grinned and winked at Rose. Rose examined Ka, who she really knew nothing about, and then looked to Zojikoe...who she equally knew nothing about. The choice she made came to her in a split-second. 

                "I'd love to." She replied elatedly.


	4. Episode 4

EPISODE 4

                Rose, Ka and Zojikoe stood on the lip of the ledge overlooking the city of Ched Nasad with mixed emotions. Ka was excited, Zoe mildly intrigued, and Rose apprehensive. The priestess pulled the cowl of her robes up over her hair and hid her face in its shadows.

                "The city's likely to be in a semi-uproar," she warned them. "Or not. Depending . . ."

                "On what?" Zoe asked. Rose frowned.

                "On a few things," she answered vaguely. "I left just before things got out of control, so I'm not sure how everything worked out, but . . . maybe it's best if you two aren't seen with me while we're in there."

                "Why not?" Ka asked curiously. "What did you do anyway?"

                "It's not important," Rose snapped, then softened. "I'll tell you if and when it is. And stop that!" She whirled around and glared at Ka. "Stay _out_ of my head!" Ka painted an innocent expression on her face and smiled.

                "Well," she said simply, breezing past Rose and starting down the hill, "if we're going to be on our way, let's get moving!" Muttering to themselves, Zojikoe and Rose started down after her. 

                "Is she always like that?" Rose demanded irritably, slipping on a loose rock. Zoe caught her and steadied her.

                "Well," he said, "it's not really my place to say but . . . yeah, I'd have to say so." Rose grinned crookedly at him from under her hood as they reached the bottom of the hill and entered into the city of Ched Nasad. 

                "I'll catch up with you guys in a bit," Rose said suddenly, once they were past the border of the city. "I've got some things I have to do." That said she turned and disappeared into the crowd in a swirl of black robes.

                "She's weird," Ka decided, turning and threading her own way through the crowd, dragging Zojikoe with her.

                Rose watched them go from a shaded corner and shook her head. What am I getting myself into with these two? She wondered silently. She had spent the last two weeks with the pair. Long enough to figure out that Ka had absolutely no scruples when it came to picking at other people's thoughts with her powers, and Zoe was somehow condescending towards her some of the time, though Rose couldn't even begin to imagine why, since he was the male sibling. Not that Ka wasn't condescending either . . . 

                Rose finally pulled her eyes away from the retreating Venorik'Z'ress siblings and headed, more from force of habit than anything else, towards House Velve'Pa'Das. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't even notice the man ahead of her until she was almost on top of him.

                "Hey!" He said, snapping her back to the present. "Careful!" She glared at him, though its effect was marred slightly by her hood.

                "Watch your tone," she snapped, then winced as she recognized the drow. She turned around in an effort to get away before he realized who she was but didn't succeed.

                "Hey! I know that voice!" He said. "You're . . . Rose aren't you? Rose Velve'Pa'Das! I . . . hey!" He gasped as Rose grabbed the back of his cloak and dragged him into a deserted alley. She slammed him into a wall and snapped her knife out of her sleeve and prepared to cut his throat. 

                "No wait!" He cried as started to bring the knife down. "I know something you don't! About Kirisstind!" Rose stopped her knife a quarter of an inch from his throat and narrowed her eyes.

                "What?" She hissed. "What about Kirisstind?"

                "Nothing much," replied the drow with a twisted smile. He drove his knee upwards into her gut and she gasped and stumbled backwards, dropping her knife with a clatter to the ground. Rose stared at him, startled that he would strike out at a female.

                "What can I say?" He asked with the same twisted grin, interpreting her look correctly. "I've always been a rebel."

                "You've always been a reject, Dil'andau!" She responded caustically, drawing her sword and straightening. "The candle counter of House Streeka'Xukuth!"

                "I am not!" Dil'andau cried angrily clenching his fists. "Not anymore! I've got a half decent assignment this year!" Rose rolled her eyes.

                "Yeah right," she said. "Anyway, you're not going to live long enough to complete it. I don't need anyone knowing I'm still alive, so . . ." She dove forward and Dil'andau pulled a long halberd off his back and blocked her attack.

                "Well, it's a little late for that," he said simply. "Kirisstind seems convinced you're still alive and she's determined to remedy that."

                "What?!" Rose gasped, her eyes widening. "Kirisstind's alive?!"

                "Oh yeah," the drow jabbed viciously at her with his halberd but the narrowness of the alleyway made it difficult for him to get in a decent shot. "She's my new baby sister!" His tone suggested he wasn't all that happy about that. "House Streeka'Xukuth adopted her after she survived the raid on House Velve'Pa'Das." Rose swung her blade down towards the top of his head and he brought the staff of his halberd up in a block. "The ruins of the House that destroyed yours are just across the street if you don't believe me." Rose snarled furiously and made a wild slash for Dil'andau, which the trained fighter blocked easily. He dropped to the ground and swept Rose's ankles out from under her and she fell roughly to the ground, her hood falling back off her head. He brought his Halberd down an inch from her face and stopped it. His eyes shone with a sudden remembered excitement.

                "And, man, was it a show!! The best I've seen to date!! All the screaming and demons and blood and . . ." He stopped and shook his head. "But anyway, that was a week ago." He grinned down at her. "Sorry priestess, but you're just not a fighter." He sighed then. "And now I'm torn. I know I should kill you . . . since, a, my new baby sister hates your guts, and b, you're going to kill me if I let you live. But on the other hand, my new baby sister hates you. Which means I like you." He frowned and tilted his head in thought.

                "Let me make the decision easier for you," sneered a voice from behind Rose as Zojikoe suddenly teleported into existence. He extended his hands towards Dil'andau and muttered a brief incantation. The fighter swore violently at the unexpected opposition as he was thrown backwards by an unseen wind into the wall. Rose stared up at Zoe in shock.

                "You're a mage?!" She demanded incredulously. "I didn't know that! Why didn't you tell me?!"

                "I . . . well . . . you never asked . . ." Zoe said, slightly flustered at her reaction to his rescue.

                "Oh!" Dil'andau fumed, climbing to his feet. "You are so going to pay for that!" He started looking around for his Halberd. "Where . . ."

                "Looking for this?" Demanded a familiar voice from the front of the alleyway. All eyes turned to where Ka stood, awkwardly holding the halberd. Dil'andau stared at her in surprise for a moment and then started laughing.

                "She can't even hold it right!" He laughed. "What a . . ." He didn't go much farther than that when Ka picked up the halberd and smacked him in the middle of the forehead with the blunt end. Dil'andau crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap, with Ka standing triumphantly over him.

                "Oh brilliant Ka," Zoe said, rolling his eyes and helping Rose back to her feet. "That's the wrong end! You're supposed to use the sharp one!" Ka glared at him and stuck her tongue out.

                "It worked, didn't it?" She demanded, then glared at him. "So is that how you caught up to me so fast before?" She asked suddenly. "You teleported?" Zoe rolled his eyes again.

                "I thought that was fairly obvious," he muttered. "To those of us with an at least average intelligence." Ka wielded the upside down halberd dangerously and Zoe took a step back behind Rose.

                "So . . . uh . . . what was that all about?" He asked, trying to shift Ka's attention away from him. He gestured down at Dil'andau. Rose sighed and muttered something neither of them could make out.

                "It has to do with that family trouble I mentioned earlier," she said, hoping that would satisfy them. It didn't. Ka glared flatly at her and Rose could see her start to focus. A second later she felt the now familiar tugging at her mind. "Stop it Ka," she growled. Ka tugged harder. "Stop it!" Ka grinned evilly but before she could do any more Rose threw her hands up in the air and growled in frustration. "Fine!" She shouted. "Fine! I'll tell you! Just . . . get out of my head!" Grinning triumphantly Ka removed her hold on Rose's mind.

                "I knew you'd give in," the shorter drowess said smugly. Rose glared at her.

                "But not here if you don't mind. Let's find somewhere to sit down at least." She tugged her hood irritably back up over her hair and face and stormed out of the alley.

                "Ka, you are such a . . ."

                "Say it," Ka said, still clutching the halberd, "and I bash your face in with my new stick." She whirled around and stormed out after Rose. Zojikoe glared after her and followed her out, pausing to kick Dil'andau once for good measure before leaving the alleyway behind.

***

                " . . . so Slayer and I left, and that's the whole story," Rose finished up, leaning back and watching the other two's reactions.

                "Where's Slayer now?" Zojikoe asked curiously. "We haven't seen him." Rose shrugged.

                "He's around here someplace," she said. "He went on a hunting trip a day or two before I ran into you two and he's probably looking for me. We'll meet up with him sooner or later. He's a much better tracker than any of us." Ka adjusted the straps she'd bought for the halberd across her back and glanced at Rose.

                "Who was that guy then?" She asked. "That you were fighting with."

                "That," Rose said, "was Dil'andau Streeka'Xukuth. He's a rebellious, excitable, childish drow, who has no respect for anything but his weapons." She nodded towards Ka's new toy. "And that one happens to be his favorite. He's going to be furious when he wakes up and it's not there anymore."

                "Why was he fighting you?" Zoe asked, interrupting Ka in the middle of a sharp reply.

                "Because I attacked him when recognized me," Rose answered simply. "I would have killed him too, if he hadn't mentioned that Kirisstind was still alive. Kirisstind Streeka'Xukuth . . . I hope she brings as much disaster on their House as she did on mine." She was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "But anyway, did you two get all the supplies you needed?"

                "Pretty much," Zoe answered, "no thanks to Ka." Ka glared at him and Rose quickly got to her feet before they could start bickering again.

                "Then maybe we should go before someone else recognizes me," the drowess suggested. The Venorik'Z'ress siblings nodded their agreement and got to their feet, Ka a little unsteadily due to the extra weight on her back, and started off through the streets of the city, making their way for the exit. Rose breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of Ched Nasad.

***

                Later that night, Zoe rolled his eyes as Ka and Rose started arguing over who should take first watch, as they had every night since they'd first met. And as he had, every night since they'd first met, he turned around and ended their fight.

                "Fine!" He shouted. "I'll take the first watch again if you two would just shut up!" Ka and Rose snickered and grinned at each other and Zoe was hit by the sudden suspicion that he'd been had . . . again.

                He had just settled into a spot to watch, and the women were wrapped up in their blankets almost asleep, when Ka suddenly sat straight up in her make-shift bed. 

                "Something's coming," she hissed. Zoe sat up straight and Rose threw of her blankets, getting to her feet and drawing her sword.

                "What is it?" She whispered. Ka frowned and concentrated.

                "A . . . an animal. A panther . . ." Rose relaxed and fell back into her blankets.

                "Ka, you knob, it's just Slayer!"

                "And a drow," Ka added suddenly. "He's got a drow with him!"

                "What?!" Rose got up again. "A drow? Why . . ."

                "We're about to find out," Zoe said, calling to mind a few spells and dousing the fire with one of them. The small group crouched in silence as the minutes ticked by.

                "Ka are you sure . . ." Zoe started to say.

                "Zoe, shut up. I'm sure. They're still there . . . but one of them's reluctant. The drow." Rose laughed quietly.

                "Slayer must be having fun," she remarked.

                "Here they come," Ka hissed suddenly. Within moments an irate drow's voice was audible to the group.

                "Stupid cat," it muttered. "Let me go!" Rose groaned and fell back over on to her blankets.

                "It's that fool, Dil'andau!" She muttered. "Zoe, light the fire again." Zoe whispered an incantation and light filled the small camp just as a sleek black panther appeared, dragging an extremely reluctant Dil'andau along behind it.

                "Slayer!" Rose cried delightedly.

                "Rose!" Dil'andau cried not so delightedly. "And . . . you other people!" Rose frowned down at him, suddenly noticed the reason why Slayer had dragged the drow as far as he did with Dil'andau attempting to attack him.

                "What did you do to your leg?" She asked, dropping to her knees beside her panther and stroking it's head. She eyed Dil'andau's bloodied leg.

                "Your stupid panther jumped me in the dark and tried to eat me," Dil'andau said. "And if you don't mind it really, really hurts. So you know, you're a priestess, could you do me a favor and heal me up or something?"

                "Oh Slayer! You hurt your paw!" Rose exclaimed in exaggeration, ignoring Dil'andau and focusing on her cat. Dil'andau opened his mouth to say something but suddenly noticed the weapon that Ka was holding.

                "Hey!" He shouted. "You stole my halberd!" Ka grinned at him.

                "What are you going to do about it, cripple?" She demanded with a grin.

                "Why you little . . . agh!" He started to move towards her, forgetting in his anger his wounded leg. He fell to the ground with a cry. Zoe turned to Dil'andau.

                "What are you doing here?" He demanded. "Why are you following us?"

                "Following you?!" Dil'andau cried. "That stupid cat dragged me here after it tried to eat me! Speaking of which," he turned back to Rose. "Can you heal me now? Please?"

                "I'm still debating whether or not to kill you," Rose replied, still focusing on Slayer. Dil'andau groaned and fell back on the ground.

                "Hey!" Ka cried. "You're bleeding all over my blankets!" She ripped her blankets out from under him. "Jerk!"

                "Ka," Rose said suddenly, "why not see if you can't figure out what our little tag along here is really after." Ka's eyes brightened and the prospect and she grinned eagerly.

                "Finally," she muttered. "Something I'm good at . . ." Dil'andau regarded her nervously.

                "What is she . . . hey!" He gasped as he felt the tugging at his mind. Ka's eyes widened suddenly.

                "He's after the Kyrashar Rose too!" She cried angrily. "Well he can't have it! It's mine!" An evil grin suddenly lit her face. "His matron is busy training Kirisstind, so she sent him out after it because she didn't want to have to deal with him." Zoe snickered.

                "Sounds like someone else I know," he said. Ka glared at him.

                "At least I wasn't assigned inventory," she shot back.

                "Hey! Drow in pain over here!" Dil'andau called. "Somebody? Anybody? Rose! Please!"

                "Fine," Rose muttered. While Ka and Zoe bickered back and forth about who was more important in their House, Rose murmured a few prayers to Lloth and set to work on healing Dil'andau's leg. Once that was done he stood up and gingerly put his weight on it.

                "Good as new!" He declared. "Well, if that's everything," he casually reached down and picked up his halberd, "I'll be off now." He turned and started off into the darkness.

                "Slayer," Rose said simply. "Sic 'im." The panther bounded forward with a roar and Dil'andau stopped dead in his tracks, sagging in defeat.

                "Oh come on Rose!" He pleaded. "Let me go! I have to get the Kyrashar Rose!"

                "So do we," Rose pointed out. "Well, they do. And we don't have a fighter in the group yet."

                "Is this an invitation?" Dil'andau asked with a grin.

                "It's an abduction," Rose corrected. "You're coming with us whether you like it or not."

                "Oh," Dil'andau said, "and what makes you think you can keep me here?" Slayer growled low in his throat and Dil'andau blanched slightly.

                I knew you'd see it my way," Rose said smugly.

                "Hey!" Ka said suddenly, looking up from her fight with Zoe. "He's got my stick!"

                "It's a _halberd!" Dil'andau corrected her. "And it's not yours it's mine." Ka stalked up to him and poked him in the chest._

                "Give me back my stick," she snarled. "I didn't spend my good money on these straps for it just so you could steal it."

                "But it's not . . ."

                "Dil'andau," Rose said wearily, fixing up her blankets. "Just give her the stick back."

                "It's not a stick!" He said. "And it's not . . ."

                "Yoink!" Ka cried, grabbing the halberd before he realized what she was doing.

                "Hey! That's my sti . . . my halberd!"

                "Not anymore," Ka said, crawling under her blankets with the halberd. Dil'andau started towards her malevolently, but Slayer looked up from where he lay beside Rose and growled at him. He paused and stared from the panther to Ka to his halberd and back again.

                "But . . . I . . ."

                "Just go to sleep, Dil'andau," Zoe advised him sagely. "There's no point in arguing with those two." The frustrated drow continued to stare for a moment, then finally lay down on the hard ground and muttered until he fell asleep.


	5. Episode 5

EPISODE 5

                Early the next morning, Ka woke up to the sound of the newcomer Dil'andau's dreaming. She was tempted to hold his loudness against him, but she quickly reminded herself that she too dreamt 'out loud'. What irked her, however, was not the fact that Dil'andau was talking in his sleep...it was the fact that what he was _saying offended her._

                Ka crept out of her warm blankets and stealthily crawled over to where the warrior slept. She perched herself over his face for a moment, steadily listening to the things he was saying...or rather, mumbling. Dil'andau was complaining about his halberd again...there was a moment when he said something about eating crab legs for supper, but the dream mainly focused on the 'stolen' halberd.

                Muffling a giggle with her hand, Ka reached out with the velvet fingers of her mind and focused her attention on Dil'andau's dream. She saw herself in the man's dream, barbarically ripping the halberd out of Dil'andau's hands and running away at top speed, laughing maniacally. Boy...this one sure had a way of dramatizing things...

                Shaking her head, Ka retracted her mental grasp and simply examined Dil'andau as he slept. The feisty warrior of Streeka'Xukuth slept in the worst position Ka had ever seen; he lay sprawled, taking up enough room for five, with one leg stretched out and the other bent at the knee, and with his arms up over his head. He moved about constantly and occasionally lashed out with his hands or legs, thus becoming a real hazard to anyone sleeping within a ten-foot radius of him.

                Grinning to herself, Ka looked around to make sure Rose and Zoe were both still asleep. When she saw they were, she returned her attention to Dil'andau and blew sharply in his face. The warrior instantly snapped wide-awake, thrashing about like a man drowning.

                "What the _hell?_!" Dil'andau cried, his voice cracking. "I'll teach you to--" He brushed his face with his hands and got to his knees, then whirled around and faced Ka. His crimson eyes grew wide. "You!" He hissed through clenched teeth. "YOU!" He repeated, louder this time, and started for Ka, then his eyes caught the glint of adamantine wrapped up in the psionicist's bedroll. With a whimper, he shoved passed Ka and reached for the halberd. "My baby!" He murmured and attempted to free the long weapon from it's comfortable prison. Ka grinned wickedly, amused at the warrior's gender disrespect. 

                "_Your baby?!" She snapped and dived for Dil'andau. She grasped his arms and tried her best to pry him away from the halberd, but the male was quite a bit stronger than she had expected. This one was not like her weak brother... The warrior lashed his arm back and Ka was thrown onto her backside at the end of her blankets.  The halberd finally came free and Dil'andau held it up triumphantly. _

                "Haha! Thought you'd get the best of me, eh?!" He cooed, his eyes sparkling. He was about to ramble on about finally being reunited with his 'long lost love' when someone jumped on his back and threw him forward. Ka laughed gleefully and hopped over Dil'andau, snatching up his halberd as she did.

                "It's _mine_!" She yelped territorially and bounded out of the warrior's reach, hugging the weapon to her chest and giving her opponent a hard look. Dil'andau gritted his teeth and started to get to his feet when Ka pointed behind him and declared, rather smugly, "Look behind you, Dilly...Zoe's gonna beat you up for ruining his beauty sleep!" The warrior's face grew dull.

                 "Oh, please Ka." He grumbled in a low, unimpressed voice. "For a brainiac, you sure got some pretty stupid tricks..." He continued his advance on the psionicist then cried out as something stung his left arm. Dil'andau whirled around at once, his gaze falling upon that of an unhappy, ill-rested Zojikoe. The mage held a single finger extended in Dil'andau's direction, and a light wisp of smoke wafted up from it's very tip.  "She -- I --" The warrior tried with great effort, then looked over his shoulder and gave Ka a dark look before returning his attention to the displeased wizard. "She attacked me first." He grumbled childishly and pouted. "And she has my halberd." He then added pointedly.  Zojikoe spoke very slowly, something he did only when seriously irritated. 

                "You know what, Dil'andau?" He said thoughtfully, "You're a real champ...you know that? A real..._champ_." He spat the word like venom. This was no compliment... The lithe mage closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "I don't know if you two could have _possibly made any __more noise..." He sighed and fought back the urge to jump on both his sister and the new male and throttle them, "...some of us are trying to _sleep_!" He made absurd hand gestures and rubbed his temples again, "Now I know that Ka doesn't sleep, but if _you_--" He paused and motioned sharply to Dil'andau, "--don't sleep __either, we're going to have some __serious problems in the near future." He gave his sister and the new warrior an exasperated look. Dil'andau blinked and looked back at Ka. _

                "You're gonna take that from him?" He asked idly, thumbing back at Zojikoe. Suddenly, the halberd didn't matter any more. Ka opened her mouth to say something, but Dil'andau cut her off. "Do you want me to teach him some manners?" He asked forcefully, his expression growing angry -- not play-angry, but seriously angry -- all of a sudden. He didn't even wait for Ka to answer before turning around and striding determinedly towards Zojikoe.  Zojikoe stepped back cautiously, Dil'andau's sudden change of character had taken him by surprise. 

                "Listen--" He tried, his voice quavering; it was his turn to worry. He sidestepped from the warrior's path, but Dil'andau was faster. Ka watched in horror as Dil'andau cracked a fist on her brother's jaw. 

                "Dil!!!" She cried at the top of her lungs and bolted towards him, "Stop it!" She hollered. The slender mage brought a hand to his face and looked up at the taller warrior with murder in his eyes. 

                "Oh you mother f--" He whispered in warning and launched a punch at the other male. Dil'andau narrowly avoided the blow and pulled a dagger from his vest, then threw the mage back against the cavern wall and started a classic tavern fight.

                Sleepy-eyed and in a sour mood, Rose sat up in her blankets and rubbed her eyes. "W-what?" She asked drowsily. She had been sleeping perfectly until Ka cried out... She opened her eyes and as she saw what was going on a few feet away, her jaw dropped. "Holy mother of spiders!!!" She cried and jumped to her feet. She hurriedly made her way over to where Ka stood and grasped the drowess' shoulders, spinning her around so that they would be face-to-face. "What did you _do_?!" She yelled at the psionicist. Ka shook her head. 

                "I didn't do anything!!!" She defended herself firmly, still clutching the halberd tightly. Rose eyed the weapon and frowned. 

                "Is THAT why Dil'andau's beating on Zojikoe?" She asked, pointing to the halberd. There was a scream off to the side and she looked over to see Zojikoe wrestling with Dil'andau; the mage appeared to be trying to get something shiny out of the warrior's hand... Ka shook her head again. 

                "NO!" She sighed heavily. "Dil'andau and I were fighting over the halberd this morning and we happened to wake Zojikoe up...he's such a light sleeper...and then Zoe got mad at me and gave me some attitude and then Dil got mad and went after him!" She explained hastily. Rose raised an eyebrow.

                 "So, technically, this is all your fault." She figured bluntly. Ka narrowed her eyes at Rose.

                 "Well you're just cruisin' for a bruisin', aren't you?" She commented ominously, pushing up the sleeves of her overcoat, "That's it..."

                Two seconds later, all four drow were mutually at war with one-another.

***

                A half hour later, the 'companions' sat by the -- completely cleaned up -- camp, quietly eating their breakfast. The meal consisted of dried meat and a flask of water that they all shared...yes, _shared_.

                The tension between them was present still, yet not as overbearing as it had been a moment ago.

                Ka sat by her rolled-up blankets, occasionally giving the others evil looks. Dil'andau sat opposite to her, firmly clutching his halberd (which he had managed to retrieve during the fight); he looked suspiciously from Ka to Zojikoe. Rose sat near Ka and spent the meal looking up at the ceiling. Zojikoe, far away from everyone else, pouted.

                After a long moment of silence, Ka spoke up in a dismal tone., "Wow...how much do you guys wanna bet that none of us lives to see the Kyrashar Rose?" She asked cynically. There was a universal grumble from everyone else in the room, then Rose piped up.

                 "We'll be fine...we'll just have to try very hard not to get on each other's nerves." She suggested rather optimistically, looking away from the ceiling at long last. She looked over at Ka.

                "Then tell Ka to leave my stuff alone." Dil'andau snapped moodily, giving the psionicist a malicious stare. Zojikoe looked to the warrior and sneered.

                 "And tell _him to stay the hell away from me." He added pointedly, hugging his knees to his chest. Dil'andau turned to look at the mage and gritted his teeth._

                 "Why don't you just stop breathing, _champ?" He spat in reply, feeling the anger well up within him again. The siblings of Venorik'Z'ress were not his favorite people right now... Ka sighed loudly._

                 "Okay, okay!" She cried exasperatedly, "Let's just get up and out of here...if we start moving, we'll get other things on our minds and we'll be able to function like normal people." She figured and got to her feet, hefting her covers onto her back. She was silently thankful that she no longer had Dil'andau's halberd on her back, for her balance was a lot better.

                Zojikoe slowly got to his feet and brushed off the front of his deep red robes, "Dil'andau's not normal, Ka." He commented dryly to his sister, giving her a most serious look. "He's a freak." When Ka rolled her eyes at his comment, the mage strode by the warrior in question and approached Rose. "Why don't we leave the two weirdlings alone for a bit and travel together, hmm?" He offered to the priestess. "Perhaps, between the two of us, we could have a sensible conversation that _doesn't_ include topics like weaponry or brain hemorrhaging." Rose gave Zojikoe an unsure look and glanced back at Ka.

                 "May I have the map?" She asked and held out her hand. Ka considered it for a moment, then pulled the crumpled piece of paper from her coat and handed it to the priestess. 

                "Don't get us lost." She warned and looked to Zoe meaningfully; the wizard knew where they were going and would surely correct Rose if she read the map wrong. Rose began to walk ahead and then she stopped and looked back at Zojikoe.

                 "Well?" She asked him. "Are coming or not? I was looking forward to the conversation you had in mind..." She managed smile -- the first smile of the day for almost everyone in the party -- and beckoned the wizard to her side. His eyes lighting up with pride and purpose, Zojikoe hurried over to the priestess' side and they walked off, chatting in quiet tones.

                Still behind, Dil'andau looked to Ka with an icy expression on his sharp-featured face. Why did he get stuck with Ka? She might decide to take ownership of something other than his weapon...

                Ka gave the warrior a dull look, trying to wear down his ignorance, then, realizing that the male was an awfully stubborn thing, she rolled her eyes and walked off after Rose and Zoe. "Sulk all you want, Dil." She mumbled and took off.

                Dil'andau watched Ka go and seriously considered returning to Ched Nasad; but then, he decided that fighting with the little brainiac was far better than fighting with his enraged matron...

                Ka smiled victoriously when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Soon, Dil'andau appeared at her side; now that they were shoulder to shoulder, Ka noticed that the warrior was much taller than she...this didn't come as a surprise to her as she had never been physically imposing. Up ahead, Rose and Zoe seemed to be holding up the sensible conversation that Zoe had promised Rose; jealous, Ka looked over at Dil'andau and opened her mouth to say something smart and conversational. She immediately closed her mouth when she caught sight of Dil'andau absent-mindedly picking his teeth. There would be no intelligent conversation out of _that one..._

                "What?" Dil'andau asked innocently, seeing Ka turn away with disgust. The psionicist of Venorik'Z'ress silently cursed the fact that the man had noticed her attempt at conversation.

                 "Nothing." She snapped, giving Dil a sidelong glance.

                "No." Dil'andau objected, searching out Ka's elusive gaze. "What is it? Tell me...did I do something? Was it because I was picking my teeth?" He asked curiously. He watched as Ka's lips quirked upwards and he frowned deeply. "It _was because I was picking my teeth, wasn't it?" Ka looked over at the drow and sighed disconsolately._

                 "You're not a quick one, are you?" She asked rather harshly. There was no use keeping secrets... Dil'andau's eyes widened into large rubies.

                 "What do you mean?" He became thoughtful all of a sudden. "I'm fast in combat...I'm actually the fastest of my entire House!" He declared proudly. "I'm even better than the Weapons Master!" He frowned again. "But Streeka'Xukuth doesn't notice...or _care_, as far as I can tell." He ran his fingers through his thick white mane and avoided Ka's gaze a moment. Ka examined Dil'andau and blinked, interested by the turn of things; so maybe he wasn't smart, but he was interesting none-the-less.

                 "Welcome to my world." She commented with heavy irony; she laughed a short, throaty laugh and looked at the cavern walls as she walked by. "I'm pretty damn sure my mother sent me on this mission in hopes of losing me to the horrors of the Underdark." She confessed sourly. She looked away from the wall and was surprised to meet Dil'andau's attentive gaze.

                "Why would your Matron do that?" He asked almost innocently, "You're a female." Ka smiled at the warrior's words and wondered if it was possible that a drow be that inattentive to the world around him.

                 "I'm not a priestess, Dil." She explained promptly. "I hate religion and my mother can't take that. Her one-track mind doesn't understand what I can do for her and for my House." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Let's not go into this subject...I don't feel like getting a headache today." She breathed and opened her eyes. She looked to Dil'andau. The warrior smiled.

                 "I've never had a headache." He commented lightly, "Did you know that?"

                Ka kept her caustic reply to herself and simply smiled back.

***

                About ten feet ahead of them, Rose and Zoe chatted about the Kyrashar Rose.

                Zoe was using all his intellectual charm to try to impress the priestess who traveled at his side. "The Rose was created by the followers of the Queen of Air and Darkness...and Lloth. A Black Shard was used to cut into an oak tree, causing it to bleed as it died. Into that mix was added the poison of a thousand black roses." He explained glibly. Rose quirked a brow.

                 "This happened on the surface, then?" She asked curiously, looking over at the taller mage. Zoe nodded and smiled.

                 "Yes, that's right. Anyway, Lloth's avatar then appeared and magically transformed the sap into the shape of a Rose." He paused at the word and gave the priestess at his side a gentle nudge. "Heh...you're name's Rose too." He chuckled even though Rose didn't look impressed, and then he went back to his explanations. "Okay so...because the Black Shard was used to cut into the tree, its residual dust stayed inside the Rose...and, of course you already know, the Black Shard is a bane to the faeries, so the Kyrashar Rose became a legendary weapon against the cursed fairy-folk of the surface." He finished his story and cocked his head to the side, eager to see if Rose would have any questions for him. She was such a fun student, if he dared think of her as a student.... Rose cracked a smile.

                 "So, why does your Matron want it?" She asked pointedly. Zoe pursed his lips, then shrugged.

                 "I'm not sure...you'd have to ask Ka." He thought for moment. "I suppose she wants to use its power in some way, but I don't know how or why." He gave Rose an apologetic look, then fidgeted as something brushed up against his leg. The mage looked down to see Rose's pet panther, Slayer, at his side. Zojikoe looked up from the magnificent beast and into the priestess' eyes. Rose grinned with amusement.

                 "He likes you." She purred, turning her attention to the panther. Zoe swallowed thickly; he was pleased that the cat liked him, but he wasn't so sure he liked the cat. It made him nervous, but he managed to flash Rose a confident smile.

                 "Nice kitty." He choked and patted the great feline's head with the very tips of his fingers. Rose, aware of the wizard's discomfort, laughed.

                 "Don't worry, Zoe!" She urged. "Indulge a bit...Slayer won't harm you." She held the mage's gaze firmly, reassuring him with her eyes. "He only hurts mean people like Dil'andau." She frowned at the name and made an impatient gesture with her hand. Zoe slowly reached further down and rubbed the cat's muscular back; Slayer began to purr and, seeing this as some sort of objection to his touch, Zoe retracted his hand hastily.

                 "There...that's good enough." He managed, his voice barely audible. Laughing, Rose rolled her eyes.

                 "Ka was right...you're a baby." She concluded. Indignant, Zoe crossed his arms over his chest and raised his sharp chin.

                 "Ha!" He cried and gave Rose a pointed look, "Just keep walking." He snapped pertly. Rose shook her head.

                 "Whatever..."


	6. Episode 6

EPISODE 6

                "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rose screamed over the sounds of the melee. She planted a foot on Ka's back to keep the shorter drowess from getting up and attacking her again, and the startled Dil immediately released his hold on Zoe's neck while the mage dropped the knife he had taken from the fighter. She stepped back from the squirming Ka and self righteously straightened her spider hairpiece out on her head. "We can NOT keep doing this every morning," she said. "It's just not going to work." 

                "I don't know," Dil'andau argued. "It's a pretty good work out. Or it would be if I had a better sparring partner." He cast a condescending look down at Zoe who glared up at him.

                "You call that sparring?!" He demanded angrily. "Attempted murder maybe!"

                "Hey!" Ka said. "It's not his fault you suck!" 

                "I wouldn't be talking, freak," Zoe shot back. "From where I'm sitting I'm not the only one who got beaten."

                "I didn't get beaten!" Ka argued.

                "Well Ka," Dil'andau said innocently, "you do kinda have her Excellency's footprint on your back."

                "Dil'andau, this is your last warning," Rose said between gritted teeth. "Shut up!" The companions stood still for a moment in seething silence, each glaring from one to the next.

                "Champ," Zoe muttered under his breath, glaring at Dil'andau.

                "All right, that's IT!" Dil'andau made to jump at Zoe but Rose reacted quicker.

                "Slayer!" She snapped. The black panther immediately reacted, jumping in between the two males and growling at both of them. They backed up uneasily. Rose glared at them.

                "You know what?" She said. "Ka and I are tired. You two obviously are not. And since you've got so much energy, I suggest you two clean up camp, by yourselves."

                "But that's not . . ." Zoe started.

                "You can't be serious . . ." Dil said at the same time. Slayer ended the argument with a low growl. After staring helplessly from Rose, to Ka to Slayer, they reluctantly set about doing as they were told.

                "Those two really need to learn their place," Rose muttered to herself, taking a seat beside Ka. "Don't you think?" She frowned when she didn't get an answer. "Ka?" She looked over and realized Ka wasn't paying any attention to her, but staring instead at something else. Following her line of sight, the priestess realized that she was staring at Dil'andau. "Ka!" Rose gasped. Startled out of whatever she had been thinking the psionicist turned to look at Rose.

                "What?" She asked. Rose grinned and shook her head.

                "Nothing," she replied. "It wasn't important." Ka frowned at her and Rose suddenly glared back. "I said it wasn't important, so don't even think about . . ." Ka's face suddenly turned scarlet.

                "You think I . . . that I would actually . . . about Dil!!" She sputtered. Rose rolled her eyes and fell back on the ground.

                "Well," she said, "that's what you get for nosing around in other people's thoughts!! Maybe now you'll learn!"

                "You've got a lot of explaining to do!" Ka exploded. She lowered her voice at the curious looks the males shot her. "What could possibly have made you think that I . . ."

                "You were staring at him," Rose pointed out.

                "So?" Ka demanded. "Maybe I was just lost in thought and he happened to be where I was staring."

                "You were following him with your eyes," Rose added.

                "I . . . I was just . . . enjoying his suffering. That's all!"

                "You carry around that halberd of his as though it was your most prized possession!" Rose said, exasperated.

                "It IS my most prized possession!" Ka answered. Rose raised an eyebrow at her.

                "You don't even know how to use it," she said. "You're still holding it upside down." Ka frowned.

                "Well," she said, fishing around for an excuse, "it annoys Dil when I take it. He gets really mad, and I happen to find that funny. None of those are any reason to think that I would even consider liking Dil in . .. that way." Rose laughed suddenly.

                "You call him Dil!" She said. "That's reason enough!" Ka opened her mouth but was unable to think of an answer to that one.

                "I . . . that's stupid," she finally managed. "I mean . . . you call Zojikoe Zoe! It's the same thing!"

                "You call him that too!" Rose argued. "None of us call Dil'andau Dil though. That's just a you thing."

                "A me thing?" Ka demanded.

                "Yes, a you thing," Rose replied.

                "We're done," Zoe announced suddenly, interrupting the two's argument. He shrank back when they both turned to glare at him.

                "Whoa," Dil'andau muttered. "If looks could kill . . ." Rose pulled the map out of her robes and handed it over to Zoe.

                Ka and I are having a little discussion," she said. "You two walk up ahead and lead the way."

                "What?!" Zoe demanded. "You want me to walk with him?!"

                "Nothing doing!" Dil'andau insisted. "I'm not walking with the psycho."

                "Psycho? Psycho?!" Zoe cried. "I'm not the psycho one here!"

                "You wanna make something of it?" Dil'andau cried, his hand snaking over his shoulder only to find his halberd missing. "Hey! Where's my . . . Ka! You little wench!"

                "Don't call my sister a wench!" Zoe cried, shoving Dil'andau backwards.

                "CUT IT OUT!" Rose shouted, effectively putting an end to the arguments (though not until after Dil'andau had given Zoe an innocent little nudge that sent the mage flying onto his backside). "You two, go!" She ordered, gesturing for Zoe and Dil to start on their trek. "Slayer, you go with them. Make sure they don't kill each other." Slayer obediently began herding the two males out of the camp, Zoe still clutching the map in one hand.

                "So," she said, turning to Ka. "Where were we?"

***

                "Champ."

                "Rat."

                "Bastard!"

                "Freak!"

                "Reject!"

                "Grrrr . . ."

                "Nice kitty . . ." Zojikoe and Dil'andau immediately backed down and satisfied themselves with glaring at each other.

                "We're coming up to a fork," Dil'andau said suddenly. "Give me the map so I can see which way to go."

                "Sure," Zoe said, holding out the map. Just before Dil'andau's fingers could touch it however, he jerked it away. "Not likely. Why would I trust an idiot like you with the map?"

                "Give me the stupid paper!" Dil'andau cried angrily, jumping for it.

                "No!" Zoe cried, holding it up out of Dil'andau's reach. "There's no chance in . . ." He was cut off by an odd squeaking noise. "What . . .?" Both Drow turned to look just as a large bat-like creature swooped down from it's perch and snatched the map from Zoe's grasp.

                "Uh-oh . . ." Dil'andau said, watching in horror as the bat flew away from them, gliding effortlessly over the large underground lake their path ran beside and vanishing into the Underdark.

                "Oh that is so not good," Zoe said.

                "Zoe! Dil!" Ka's voice suddenly snapped as she and Rose rounded the corner. "What are you two doing just standing there?!"

                "Rose!" Zoe gasped.

                "Ka!" Dil'andau cried.

                "We were . . . um . . . um . . . we . .. were . . . just . . . ah . . ."

                "Checking for tracks!" Dil'andau supplied quickly. "To . . . uh . . . see if there were any monsters around. But we're done now, so we'll just . . . ah . . . go back up ahead . . . again. So . . . bye!" Without waiting he and Zoe turned around and tore off ahead of the women who stared after them with raised eyebrows.

                "I'm really starting to worry about those two," Rose remarked.

                "No kidding, I . . ." She paused and frowned, tilting her head to one side. "Did you hear that?" Rose glanced at her and shook her head.

                "Hear what?" She asked.

                "I don't know. I thought . . ." Ka's voice trailed off as she extended her mind towards the lake. Her face suddenly went pale.

                "Oh shit . . ."

***

                "This is all your fault!" Zoe hissed, carefully keeping his eyes straight ahead and his back rigid.

                "My fault?!" Dil'andau cried, then lowered his voice. "My fault? How is this my fault?! You were the one waving the map around in the air!"

                "Well if you hadn't been bugging me for it in the first place!" Zoe responded.

                "I wasn't bugging! I merely asked if I could . . ."

                "Look," Zoe said irritably. "It doesn't matter. I know the way anyway, so it's not that big a deal. As long as we keep the girls from finding out, we're fine."

                "You know, Zojikoe, I don't know if you noticed, but your sister's a FREAKING PSIONICIST!! She's gonna notice!!"

                "Not if we . . ." He was cut off by a shrill scream from back where Rose and Ka had been. The two exchanged startled looks and then whirled around and took off down the corridor, back towards where they had last left the two women. They skidded to a stop as they rounded the corner and their eyes widened as they took in the scene.

                A huge, octopus-like monster had dragged itself halfway out of the lake and was whipping it's tentacles lightning quick at Rose and Ka who were working frantically to dodge them.

                "FLAME STRIKE!" Rose screamed, sending a huge fireball straight at the monster. A huge molten fireball flew from her hands and struck the monster square in it's elongated head. It gave an ear-splitting screech and toppled backwards into the water with a huge splashed that showered all four of the drow. Dil'andau stared at the priestess in shock.

                "You can DO that?!" He demanded. "I . .. I didn't know . . ." Rose rolled her eyes.

                "I'm a priestess of Lloth, Dil," she said, shooting a wicked smile at Ka when she used the name, "I do a whole lot of things you probably don't know about. Then again, if you'd spent more time at home with your sisters instead of out gallivanting around . . ."

                "Uh . . . Rose?" Zojikoe said, his eyes widening slightly. He pointed to something behind her. "Rose?"

                "What, Zoe? I'm busy gloating here!" She replied.

                "I . . . uh . . . I don't think we're done yet," he said. She frowned and turned around, her jaw falling open as the octopus rose slowly out of the water, no sign of the effects of her fireball but a blackened area in the center of it's forehead.

                "He survived it?!" She cried angrily. "How dare he!!!"

                "It's a hundred foot octopus and she wonders how he dare survive her fireball," Ka muttered.

                "Well I don't see you doing a whole lot of good," Rose shot back.

                "Uh . . . ladies . . ." Dil'andau pointed up at where the now enraged octopus stood hovering over the equally enraged Rose.

                "You are so dead you tentacled . . . freak!" Rose cried, trying to think of an attack that would have a greater effect on the monster. She was so busy glaring at the beady red eyes of the monster that she failed to notice it's tentacle descending towards her from behind.

                "Rose!" Zojikoe cried out, diving forward and tackling her to the side just as the tentacle descended. They hit the ground sharply and skidded out of the way of the tentacle. Rose turned around in Zoe's protective grasp and stared at the mage in surprise.

                "Zoe . . ." She said in shock. "You saved me . . ."

                "I . . . well . . . kinda . . . I guess," he stammered. The two suddenly realized the suggestive position they were in and blushed to the tips of their pointed ears, pushing themselves apart.

                "Ahem," Rose said, straightening her robes. "I . . . ah . . . thanks," she said, still blushing. Zoe laughed nervously.

                "Um . . . don't mention it," he said.

                "HEY!" Ka shouted angrily. "MAGICAL TYPE PEOPLE?!" She glared at them and gestured to the octopus behind her just as one of its tentacles descended towards her back with frightening speed. Dil'andau's battle cry rang out and he leapt through the air, slashing at the tentacle with his halberd (recently stolen from Ka) before the tentacle could strike the oblivious psionicist. "We could kind sorta maybe use your HELP here!" Dil'andau gasped and dodged the tentacle, slashing it in a long gash that splattered dark colored blood all over the place. He gasped again as he was suddenly grasped from behind by another tentacle. He gave a strangled cry as it wrapped tightly around his chest and he dropped his halberd.

                "Dil!" Ka cried at the shout, whirling around. She stared up at him in horror. "LET HIM GO!" She shrieked, and her eyes suddenly went out of focus. Without warning the octopus screamed in pain and dropped the gasping Dil to the ground. Several tentacles went to its head and it writhed in pain.

                "All right Ka!" Rose cried as she and Zojikoe raced to opposite sides of the monster. "We got it! Get Dil'andau!" Ka's eyes instantly regained focus and she raced to Dil's side as the fighter lay gasping for breath and holding his rib cage.

                "NOW ZOE!" Rose cried, raising her hands as electricity began to spark up her body, sending her robes whipping about in an unseen wind. The mage reacted instantly, extending his hands and chanting as lightning began to sparkle between his fingertips.. At the same instant, the two let loose with their attacks. The octopus screeched in pain as the electricity struck it and surged through it's body. Their attack continued for a moment that seemed to stretch to forever and Rose groaned at the effort of keeping her attack going.

                "It's . . . not enough!" Zoe cried. "Ka! Dil'andau!" Dil'andau struggled to a sitting position.

                "Where's my stick?!" He demanded, then winced. "Dammit! I mean my halberd! Where is it?!" Ka picked up the weapon and pressed its cool shaft into Dil's hands, and then got to her feet and glared at the writhing octopus.

                "Bye, bye octo," she told it as her eyes lost focus. The creature screeched again and the ceiling of the cavern shook violently. It fell forward onto the ground, it's head out of the water.

                "Now Dil'andau!" Rose shouted. "Kill it!" Dil'andau shot to his feet, ignoring the pain in his chest - he must have broken a few ribs - and raced towards the writhing creature. Just as he raised his weapon over the tightly shut eye, he heard Ka cry out behind him. He skidded to a stop and whirled around, staring in disbelief as one of the huge tentacles slammed into Ka and sent her crashing back into the wall.

                "YOU DIE!" He shrieked then, whirling around and ramming his halberd into the eye with all his strength. Black blood spurted high into the air and the creature shrieked one last time, rearing up and falling back into the water with an incredible splash that completely soaked Rose and Zojikoe, who were standing closest to the water's edge. The two magic users groaned and collapsed to their knees. 

                "Well . . ." Zoe breathed as Dil'andau took two steps towards Ka and toppled over. "That could have been worse." Rose threw a rock at him.

***

                Later that night, the companions (having all been healed by Rose, who was now fast asleep on her blankets) were finishing setting up their camp, as far from the lake as they had managed to make it before exhaustion demanded they collapse. Zojikoe had expended the last of his energy setting up magical warning systems around their camp so they could all get some sleep instead of having to leave one up for watch and he, Ka and Dil'andau were crawling into their blankets. The mage's eyes were almost closed when Dil's enraged shout echoed through the camp.

                "KA! GIVE ME BACK MY HALBERD!!"


	7. Episode 7

EPISODE 7

                An uneventful week passed and everyday, Zojikoe insisted on leading the group through the Underdark. He and Dil'andau hadn't had the courage to tell Rose and Ka that they had lost the map given to them by Matron Irrialishe. Zoe was positive, however, that he knew his way to the ice caves...so why bother telling the females about the map?

                Unfortunately for Zoe and Dil, things would not go the way they planned them to.

                Halfway through the fifth week of their travels, Ka began to experience frequent headaches. The team was often forced to stop their progress in order to let the drowess rest (and sometimes even sleep) in order to be able to continue on as effectively as before...

                Hey," Rose prodded gently, plopping down beside Ka; the psionicist was sitting with her back against the cavern wall, her head resting on her forearms. "Are you gonna be okay?" The priestess asked. It was the third time that week that Ka had asked to sit down and rest, and Rose was getting worried. Ka didn't bother to lift up her head.

                 "I'll be fine." She muttered, her voice muffled by the sleeve of her coat. "My head just...hurts too much to move right now." She closed her eyes and tried her very best to block out the throbbing pain that assaulted her head. The headaches came to her more often now than they had at the beginning of the week; the pain hit her full force and then gradually died down until she was capable of movement again.

                "Is there anything I can do?" Rose asked, cocking her head to try to get a look at Ka's face. Dil'andau and Zojikoe, who had been sitting opposite Rose and Ka, tried their very best to remain as quiet as possible. They looked on with concern.

                "Are you dying, Ka?" Dil asked all of a sudden, his voice meek. Zoe shot the warrior a dire glare.

                 "Shut up, Dil," He snapped. "Just shut UP." He rolled his eyes and directed his gaze to Rose's pet panther Slayer; the cat lay by Rose's side, serenely cleaning its forepaws. Even a creature of low intelligence could understand that Ka needed silence...  Dil'andau frowned over at the mage.

                 "I figured that headaches were a _bad thing for psionicists!" He retorted at once._

                "Yes, but they don't necessarily mean that the psionicist is _dying_!" Zoe replied caustically. He gave Dil'andau a dull look and turned his attention to his sister. 

                "Shut up please." Ka moaned from against her forearms, pulling her knees tighter against her chest. Why was she getting these pains all of a sudden...and why did they have to hurt so much? Rose sighed and turned to the two males.

                 "Zoe, how far are we from these ice caves you were telling me about?" She asked the mage and absent-mindedly began to stroke Slayer's back. Dil and Zoe exchanged a nervous glance and Zoe managed an uncomfortable smile.

                 "Oh, I'd say about a week or so." He answered vaguely, "Why? Anxious to return home?" He asked with a hint of disappointment. Rose shook her head.

                 "I was just wondering is all." She looked to Ka, who seemed momentarily dead, and frowned over at Zoe. "Where are we now?" She asked curiously. She hated the fact that she could do nothing about Ka's pain, so she tried to get her mind off of it by changing the subject.

                "In the Underdark." Dil interjected, flashing Rose a disarming smile. Rose eyed the warrior idly and returned her attention to Zoe.

                 "So, where are we?" She repeated. Terribly uncomfortable now, Zoe chewed on his lower lip; why was it that he could never think of something smart to say when he was being questioned by Rose? He opened his mouth to say something vague again when his sister spoke up.

                "He lost the map." Ka declared flatly, finally looking up from her arms; she narrowed her eyes at her brother and pursed her lips. "He has no idea where we are." She concluded and dropped her head back down with a groan. Zoe's eyes darted to Rose and he suddenly wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. The mage thumbed over at Dil'andau.

                 "He was there too." He tried. "It wasn't just me." Rose's eyes grew wide and she threw her arms out. 

                "WHAT?!" She shrieked then quieted down when Ka made a whimpering sound. "You _lost the map?" She gave the males an evil look and turned away abruptly, running her hands through her hair in an effort to calm herself down. "I thought you knew where we were going, Zoe." She hissed at the mage, returning her smoldering gaze to Zojikoe. Zoe stuttered something unintelligible and gave Dil'andau a furtive glance; the warrior crossed his arms over his chest and smiled, gesturing to Rose with his open hand. Gritting his teeth, the mage faced Rose once more._

                 "I...well I...I _did know where we were going..." He fumbled for the right words to sugarcoat the truth. He was kind of sure that they were headed in the right direction, but he couldn't, for the life of him, be positive about it._

                "So we're lost, is that it?" Rose snapped angrily, terribly unimpressed with the situation. She sighed exasperatedly and looked down at Slayer. "We're jammed in the middle of nowhere at the mercy of the Underdark." She shook her head at the hopelessness of it all and flicked her pet's ear playfully, "Maybe I should have stayed in Ched Nasad and let Kirisstind kill me." She grumbled. With an evil grin, Dil'andau raised an eyebrow.

                 "I could kill you _now if you'd like..." He offered in an attempt at ill humor. He lost his smile the second Rose's cold stare came upon him. Zoe sat back and licked his lips._

                 "Why don't we just turn around and go home?" He suggested. At this remark, Ka's head jerked up and her eyes widened.

                 "No!" She snapped decidedly. "We're _not_ giving up now because there's _no_ way I'm going home empty-handed!" She put a hand to her head and got to her feet, then blinked and nearly fell back down. Dil'andau hurried to her side and held her up. Ka frowned deeply and motioned to the path ahead with her chin. "Let's go." She urged the group. "I'll be fine; let's just get moving."

                Despite themselves, Rose and Zoe got to their feet. Rose looked back at Ka and gave her a queer look. "But...we don't know where we're going." She pointed out, her voice soft now. At her side, Slayer paced impatiently. Ka made a vague gesture with her hand.

                 "Just go." She managed and rested her aching head on Dil'andau's shoulder. The pain wasn't going away...it was getting worse. Ka watched Rose turn unsurely and walk up ahead with Zoe at her side. Zoe looked positively heartbroken and Rose seemed at a loss... 

                "_Are you dying?" Dil'andau asked of Ka when the two magic users were a few paces up ahead. Ka smiled weakly._

                 "Of course not, Dil." She assured him, then pulled at his arm so that he would begin to walk. "Let's just go now." She closed her eyes and let the warrior guide her on the path ahead.

                Dil soon became acutely aware the fact that the psionicist was gradually leaning all her weight against him...

***

                By mid afternoon, the group was forced to stop again; Ka had fallen unconscious without warning.

                Dil'andau sat against a large rock, cradling Ka's head in his arms. His expression was one of pure helplessness. If only he knew what was wrong with the drowess... He misguidedly tried, now and then, to heal Ka's pain by thinking really hard about seeing her wake up from unconsciousness. Even though he had no idea how something of the sort could be done, it just made him feel better to be trying...

                Rose sat near Zoe, absent-mindedly petting Slayer's muscular neck; she was singing, much to herself although others listened, and wondering about the fate of her and her teammates.

                Zoe listened to Rose's song and thought quietly; his mind raced about a million different subjects. He felt incredibly guilty for not being able to hold up his end of the bargain and lead the group to the ice caves...and it pained him tremendously to have displeased Rose. The priestess was on his mind a lot more lately and he hoped to the Goddess that Ka hadn't been reading his mind for the past few nights... But then there was Ka's sudden pain; why was she getting these massive headaches? Was she coming down with some sort of tumor or disease?

                Dil'andau sighed and examined the unconscious psion. He closed his eyes and focused on the picture of Ka opening her eyes; he clenched his teeth together and willed the image into the drowess' mind. He was no mind-mage but he could sure as hell _try! _

                Zoe looked over at Dil'andau and managed to snap out of his dismal thoughts in order to crack a smile. "Look Rose," He commented flatly. "Dil'andau's having a shit." He chuckled at the concentrated look of the warrior's face and looked to Rose for a laugh. Rose stopped singing and shook her head.

                 "Be quiet." She snapped and Slayer growled. Dil opened his eyes to glare at Zoe, but a gentle moan diverted his attention; he looked down to see Ka's eyes flutter open. Instantly, the warrior swelled with misguided pride.

                 "Hey, I did it!" He cooed, positive that his ridiculous efforts at 'healing' Ka were the cause of her return to the realm of the conscious. He grinned and brushed a loose strand of hair from the psion's face. "Are you okay now?" He asked as though he were talking to a child. Ka stared up into the warrior's face and frowned.

                 "Somewhat..." She breathed hoarsely. The pain had left in the most part; it was comparable to background noise now...

                Zojikoe and Rose came near and curiously examined the drowess in Dil's lap. Zoe put a slender hand to his sister's forehead, "What happened?" He asked at once. Ka reached up and pushed Zoe's hand away.

                 "At first it was like a normal headache, and then it got really bad." She suddenly realized that she was still laying in Dil's lap and got up. "While we were walking...the pain kinda..." She hesitated. "It kinda changed into something different. It was like a hundred voices all talking at the same time." She shook her head and looked over at her brother and Rose. "The voices got really overwhelming and I passed out...I guess my mind couldn't hold that many tenants." She smiled at the explanation. Zoe became thoughtful and Rose spoke up.

                 "But the voices are gone now, right?" She asked, hoping that this would be the end of the team's holdups. Ka nodded to Rose.

                 "In a way, yes." She tapped her head with her finger. "They're still there, but they don't hurt anymore." She explained and Rose frowned.

                "Did I heal you?" Dil'andau asked, grasping Ka's hand in order to get her attention; he grinned hopefully when she turned to face him. Ka raised an eyebrow.

                 "No, Dil." She promptly answered. "You did not." She noted the sad, defeated look on the warrior's angular face and searched out his gaze. "Did you try anything?" She asked curiously. Dil'andau gave her a sheepish look and shook his head.

                 "No." He muttered boyishly and pouted.

                In his own world now, Zoe was beginning to understand what was going on with his sister. At the mention of voices, a disturbing thought came to the mage's mind. He knew for a fact that his sister wasn't crazy...well, most of the time anyway...and so it had to be something from the environment that was giving her trouble. The only thing he could think about that could disrupt a psionicist's psychic field like it did to Ka was another, massive, psychic field. Now, the only other beings that Zoe knew could create a field of the sort were the shunned illithids. Had Zoe really lead the group _so _off-course that they had ventured into illithid territory?

                "What's wrong, Zoe?" Rose asked suddenly, snapping the mage out of his horrified daze. The others looked to Zojikoe in curiosity and the lithe mage cleared his throat.

                 "Well," He kept his eyes down. "You're not going to like this, but...I think I know what's causing Ka's headaches." He looked up meekly and ran his fingers through his hair; all the others were staring at him. "I do believe that we've ventured into illithid territory." He braced for the verbal and physical lashings he would surely receive. Rose's jaw dropped.

                 "You're not serious?!" She cried. Dil'andau rolled his eyes.

                 "We're screwed." He chimed. Ka's lower lip trembled and two big tears streamed down her cheeks; she closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

                 "Lloth, no..." She moaned and hung her head. If they had indeed ventured into illithid territory, then that meant that their presence was already known to the mind flayers. They could have been anywhere within five miles of the illithid city and still have been found; the mind flayers' psychic reach was a type of defense against predators of the Underdark. They could be surprised only by non-intelligent beings when their defense was up...

                Rose wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. "So we're basically sitting ducks?" She asked ominously. When no one answered, she whirled on Zoe and grabbed his arms, shaking him as she spoke. "You lead us into our deaths?!" She screamed at Zoe, her eyes wild and her spider tiara tipping as her hair shook. Zoe pulled the priestess away from him and blinked idly.

                 "Not really our _deaths as per say..." He tried. "More like slavery." He winced when Rose's hand flew up and smacked him. He clutched his cheek and stared, wide-eyed, at Rose. Rose remained silent a moment, her mouth open and her hand poised to strike again, and then she grabbed Zoe by the front of his robe and hauled him to his feet._

                 "Come on." She declared suddenly. "I'm getting as far away from this place as I can possibly get before the mind flayers come for us." She didn't wait for Zojikoe to answer before storming off in the direction that the group came from, dragging the mage behind her with Slayer in tow. 

                Dil'andau watched the priestess and the mage go, then looked to Ka. The psion was on her knees, staring blankly in the opposite direction. Dil looked back at the retreating Rose and Zoe, then returned his attention to Ka. Promptly, he got up, grabbed Ka, slung her over his shoulder and took off after the two others. "Wait!!!" He yelled at them, his voice cracking. "Wait for me!!!" Against Dil's back, Ka was limp.

                 "There's no use running, Dil." She called to the male. Dil'andau kept running.

                 "Oh yes there is!!!" He argued. Ka sighed.

                 "No, there _isn't...the illithids are already here." She wriggled in the warrior's grasp so that he'd put her down. Dil'andau stopped dead in his tracks and slowly put Ka down, staring at her in disbelief._

                Ahead, Zoe and Rose screamed simultaneously as a group of three illithids descended from the dark ceiling above.

                Rose threw herself at Zoe and the mage clutched her in a death grip. The priestess had just enough time to catch a fleeting glimpse of the slender, six foot, tentacled creatures that appeared from the darkness above before she and Zoe were both paralyzed by the creatures' spells. Her last coherent thought was a dry comment about being attacked by yet _another_ monster with tentacles...

                Ka and Dil'andau whirled around to find a pair of illithids standing behind them. Dil'andau ripped his halberd from his back and darted for the creatures, but he dropped to the ground in seconds -- there was no way Dil's brain could survive a psychic blast.

                The second illithid sent a blast of the same nature at Ka, but the drowess blocked it out and sent another one back. 

                Startled, the illithid's voice entered Ka's mind.  _Resistance? Its telepathic, watery voice remarked. _Interesting_... _

                Ka blinked. She had never been spoken to by an illithid before... Unfortunately for her, her moment of hesitation cost her the fight. The illithids before her sent out a simultaneous attack that knocked her out cold.

***

                When Ka regained consciousness, she was in a small, unadorned room.

                "Wow..." She mumbled to herself, as she slowly sat up. "I've passed out twice in one day!" She chuckled at the notion and suddenly felt very dizzy. She put her hand down on the pillows beneath her in order to stabilize herself and looked around. If she had been taken prisoner by the illithids, then why was she still thinking straight? 

                Awake so soon, Ka? A familiar, watery voice entered her mind.

                Ka sat bolt upright and then unsteadily got to her feet; Dil was not around to stabilize her this time. The thought of the warrior sparked concern in her mind and she wondered where Rose, Zoe and Dil were. 

                They've been taken care of, little one. The voice answered her unspoken question.

                Ka looked to the door and watched as it opened, revealing the owner of the telepathic voice. It was an illithid, of course; the slender, six-foot creature with an octopus-like head, tentacled mouth, and mauve skin stepped into the room soundlessly. 

                Ka knew what illithids were and knew what they were capable of. These creatures were an incredibly intelligent, evil race of beings that enslaved members of every other race and used them for scientific, nutritional or entertainment purposes. They were masters of the mind -- gods of psionics. They fed on the brains of sentient beings, which was their most disturbing trait. Not one other race dared to cross their path, lest they hold a death wish.

                Unable to think of anything else to do or say, Ka waved idly at the illithid. "Vendui." She greeted it in drow, unconsciously taking a step back. The illithid drew closer, its elaborate, flowing robes hissing in the silence of the room.

                 I was told that you showed resistance upon capture.  The illithid said calmly.  _This struck me as interesting so I bought you at a slave auction a few hours ago_. The illithid stared at Ka with its white, pupil-less eyes. I promised to find a good use for you.  Ka smiled a nervous smile and suddenly felt her knees shaking beneath her. 

                "Oh?" She asked weakly, her voice coming out as a squeak. "And what would that be?" She asked. She could just as well speak to the illithid telepathically, but she was bluntly unable to concentrate enough at the time to pull it off. The illithid made a kind of gurgling sound in Ka's mind and the drowess assumed that it was a laugh.

                You will see, Ka.  The illithid answered. It moved to the doorway and gestured with its four-fingered hand for Ka to follow. Will you come? We've some things to discuss.

                Ka swallowed thickly and walked towards the mind flayer. The creature wiggled its fingers -- an action that Ka recognized as being something illithids did when they were content -- and walked out of the room.

                When Ka exited the little room she had been passed out in, she arrived within a much larger, richly-furnished chamber; it was here that the illithid lived. From studying the creatures back in Menzoberranzan, Ka knew that this chamber was one in maybe a hundred others just like it; illithids lived in massive structures that served them as a type of apartment...it made social contact easier for them to be nearer to their neighbors. The 'apartment' complex was a single building among many others that formed the city; Ka also knew that somewhere in the city, there was a gladiatorial arena...which was where the illithids went for entertainment. In the center of the city was what the illithids called the "elder brain"; the elder brain was composed of all the brains of deceased illithids -- it served as a central network that allowed the illithids of the city to know just about everything. It was the elder brain that permitted the illithids to have a five mile 'intruder radar' outside of their city. 

                Now where in this city were Zojikoe, Rose and Dil'andau?


	8. Episode 8

EPISODE 8

                Zojikoe's illithid master stared down at the mage and sighed regretfully.

                "What a waste!" It mourned. "When I bought him I thought he was a gladiator! He looked like a gladiator . . . his robes hid his true physique! It's not fair!" Its friend sighed as well.

                "Well," it said consolingly, "at least yours is a good masseuse." It gestured with a four-fingered hand down to where Zojikoe was lovingly kneading the Central Brain's bulbous exterior. "The only thing mine can do is make potions and salves, and even for that I've got to let her retain a bit of her previous memories to do so." It sighed and mentally called its newest slave over for Zojikoe's master to inspect. It pointed out eh ebony spider bauble tangled in her hair. "She used to be a priestess," her master explained. "Arrogant, egotistical and stubborn, even with me controlling her mind. Her connection to whatever god it is they worship causes a few problems with my control over her if I'm not in almost constant connection to her." Zojikoe's master pointed at her ebony tiara.

                "Maybe if you got rid of the symbols of her previous life," he suggested, "she'd be easier to control." The drowess' master nodded thoughtfully.

                "It's a start," it said, holding out its hand. Rose, it snapped mentally, give me your hairpiece. Rose smiled, happy at the chance to please her master, who always seemed displeased with her for some reason, and tugged the spider out of her hair, setting it in the illithid's hand. Her master threw it disdainfully over his shoulder, where it clattered onto the walkway surrounding the Central brain.

                "Come on," Zojikoe's master said suddenly. "There's a fight on in the arena in fifteen minutes and I don't want to miss it!" He cast one last mournful look down at Zojikoe before moving out of the room, Rose and her master right on his heels.

                Zojikoe stared in puzzlement down at the bauble that had landed by his knees. He frowned and tilted his head as he looked at it. There was something important about that ebony spider. He reached out and picked it up. But what?

                "Rose?" He murmured quietly. An image of the priestess' face flashed through his mind, but a moment later it was shattered as the Central Brain suddenly tensed up and Zojikoe hastily shoved the hairpiece into his robes, upset that he had neglected the Brain. He immediately began working to relax the God-thing of the illithids, the bauble forgotten in his want to please the brain.  
  
***  
  
                Mezzen eagerly hopped from one foot to the other, watching as a few tired slaves filed in through the door from the Central Brain's room. He scanned each of their faces, looking for one in particular, that he had seen just last night. A brand new slave. He'd only been there for a day, which meant he still might have some of his memories, and Mezzen desperately wanted to talk to him. The little boy sighed in disappointment as the last slave filed through the door and no others followed him.

                "I thought for sure our master would have . . ." His voice died off, however as Zojikoe stepped out of the Central Brain's room and started towards the stairs that lead towards the sleeping chambers for the slaves. "Yes!" Mezzen cried, jumping up excitedly. "That's him! That's him!" Casting a furtive glance around to make sure his master was nowhere in sight, he took off at a dead run across the hall and fell into step beside Zojikoe. He reached up and pulled insistently on the mage's sleeve until Zoe looked down at him.

                "Hullo," Mezzen greeted him, noticing with consternation that they were almost at the stairs.

                "Hi," Zoe said, a puzzled expression on his face as he stared down at the boy.

                "I . . . um . . . where ya going?" Mezzen asked, trying to think of a way to distract Zojikoe.

                "To my room," Zoe answered simply. "My master told me to sleep so I'd be able to better help the Central Brain tomorrow." Mezzen's shoulders sagged. If his master had told him to go to sleep, there'd be no stopping the mage. Not if it meant pleasing his master. Unless . . . Mezzen brightened suddenly.

                "I know a short cut!" He burst out suddenly, just as Zojikoe put his foot on the stair. The older drow turned to look back at him in surprise. "To the . . . um . . . to the sleeping chambers that is," Mezzen explained, trying to look innocent, and not look like he was lying. "Just imagine how happy your master will be if you get there faster! He'd be so pleased with you . . ." Zojikoe paused and considered it, then smiled.

                "Okay," he said. "Show me your shortcut!"

                "Great!" Mezzen cried, beaming up at him. He eagerly grabbed the mage's hand and all but pulled him down the hall in the opposite direction, taking him towards some of the back hallways where he could keep him busy for a short while.

                "So," the boy said as they walked. "What's your name?" Zojikoe frowned a bit and his face took on an expression of concentration as he tried to sort through the mental fog in his head.

                "My name?" He asked. "It's . . . um . . . my name is . . ." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Ka!" he cried suddenly. "That's my name!" Mezzen wrinkled his nose.

                "Ka?" He asked. "What kind of name is Ka?"

                "Not mine," Zojikoe agreed seriously. "I don't think that's my name . . ."

                "I hope not," Mezzen said. "So, if that's not, what is?" Zojikoe sighed and struggled to remember. He absently touched the spider hair piece in his pocket.

                "Zojikoe," he said suddenly. "That's my name! Zojikoe! Zoe for short." Mezzen grinned up at him.

                "Can I call you Zoe?" He asked, almost but not quite shyly. Zojikoe grinned.

                "Sure thing, kid," he said. "What's your name?"

                "Mezzen," Mezzen answered. "But I don't have a for short." Zojikoe laughed and a few more memories came floating to him out of the fog in his head.

                "That's all right," he said. "Mezzen is short enough."

                "So . . ." Mezzen said after a minute, "can you remember anything else? About . . . about where you were before you were here?" Zojikoe nodded a bit.

                "I remember . . . a city," he said. "Menzo something or other it was called. And . . . something about candles . . ." He frowned at the half a memory. His hand went again to the bulge in his pocket and Mezzen stared curiously at it.

                "What's that?" He asked, pointing with his free hand. Zojikoe smiled a bit and reached into his pocket, pulling out the spider hair piece.

                "I'm not sure where it came from," he said. "But it seems really familiar and . . . when I look at it, I can picture someone's face. Somebody important to me I think." Mezzen sensed the frustration in Zojikoe's voice.

                "Concentrate," he instructed. "On the face. It might trigger other memories." Zojikoe pulled his eyes from the tiara long enough to stare with slight suspicion at the boy.

                "You seem to know a lot about this for a kid," he said. Mezzen smiled almost sadly.

                "I've been with the illithids since before I can remember," he said. "My whole life probably. You learn a thing or two when you've been with them for that long, and not under their control." Zojikoe stared at him for a moment more, then nodded. He turned back to the ebony spider and focused on the face in his mind.

                "Her name . . . is Rose," he said, struggling to remember. "She was a priestess. From Ched Nasad, I think. Yeah, that's right." He smiled to himself. "She and my sister couldn't seem to figure out if they wanted to get along or not. It kinda depended on how impressed they were with Dil'andau and I. And she and Dil'andau didn't get along at all. Especially where her panther was concerned." 

                "What's a panther?" Mezzen asked suddenly. Zojikoe tried to figure out a way to describe it.

                "Well," he said, "it's a surface animal. You don't find them down in the Underdark, but Rose found hers when it was just a kitten or something like that on a raid to the surface. It's a big black beast with claws and teeth, but I guess it's pretty tame. At least where Rose is concerned. Truthfully, it makes me really nervous, but I don't think I'll tell her that."

                "Where did you meet her?" Mezzen asked, curious about a priestess who had a pet from the surface.

                "It was just after I'd teleported out after Ka, my sister," Zojikoe answered. Without fully realizing it, he began to relate the entire tale of his journey with the three other drow to the small boy, as the memories began coming back to him in a rush.

                "And the next thing I know, here I am, talking to you," the mage finished, glancing down at the little boy. His face paled suddenly. "Oh Goddess!" he cried. "Rose must hate me!! She couldn't stand it when Ka messed with her mind, and Ka's just a baby compared to these illithids! She must be going insane!" He groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Mezzen paused in mid step and stared up at Zojikoe, eyes bright with a sudden revelation.

                "Are you and Rose married?" He asked suddenly. Zojikoe stopped and stared at him in surprise. "I mean, you kind of talk about her like you were married," he explained hastily. "You know? Kinda all . . . I dunno, just kinda like you love her or something." Zojikoe's jaw dropped, and a thousand denials suddenly began to form in his brain, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to say them.

                "I . . . I . . ." He managed. Mezzen nodded sagely and continued walking.

                "Yep," he said, "you're married." Zojikoe shook his head and quickly caught up to the boy.

                "No," he said. "We're not." That, at least, he could deny. He couldn't resist adding, "Not yet, anyway."

                "But you're going to be?" Mezzen asked with a huge grin. Zojikoe sighed suddenly.

                "Not if I don't figure out a way to get us out of here," he responded, looking dismally around at the hallway. "And even then, that's if Rose ever forgives me for getting her into this whole mess. This is all my fault . . ." Mezzen frowned a bit at that last part.

                "Well," he said, "technically it's kinda more Dil'andau's fault than yours," he pointed out. "I mean, he's not very smart right?" Zojikoe rolled his eyes in agreement. "So obviously you couldn't have given him the map . . . he should have known better than to ask for it! So it's his fault that the map got lost!! Not yours at all. Rose will understand that. I know she will!" Zojikoe looked down at the little boy for a minute, then abruptly a grin crossed his face.

                "Kid," he said. "I like you better already!"  
  
***  
  


                Rose watched the black panther pacing back and forth in it's magical cage with an odd fascination. There was something about the cat that seemed familiar, and it bothered her that she couldn't place it. It kept looking at her with such familiarity, not to mention confusion. As though it couldn't understand why she just sat there watching it and not doing anything about its imprisonment. It growled almost affectionately at her and pawed at its cage. She shook her head at the sudden urge to open its door and went back to making potions. The panther sighed and flopped down in its cage.

                As she worked she had a sudden recollection about discussing potion making with someone. Who had that been? She paused again in her work, trying to remember.

                "Zojikoe," she said suddenly. That's who it had been. Zojikoe. She looked back up at the caged panther and had a sudden vision of it rubbing up against Zojikoe's legs. "Slayer?" She asked. The cat's ears instantly pricked up and it looked at her hopefully. "Slayer? Is that you? I . . ." She pressed a hand to her forehead. "What's going on?" She asked out loud. "I . . ." With sudden clarity the events of the past few days (not to mention her whole life) came back to her in a rush. "Slayer!" She cried, dropping the potion she'd been working on and racing over to the cage. The panther growled elatedly and bounced to its feet. Rose pulled with all her strength on the lock, but it was magically sealed. She swore viciously, glancing around her to make sure her illithid master was nowhere in sight. She shuddered at the memory of wanting nothing more than to please it. The past day or two had redefined her personal hell.

                "There's got to be some way to get you out of this," she muttered, trying desperately to break through the block the illithids had put on her arcane knowledge. "If I could just . . ."

                Rose, a watery voice snapped in her mind. What are you doing? Why aren't you working? Rose felt a sudden surge of guilt and shame that she had upset her master, but Slayer brushed his paw pleadingly against her hand and she beat it down, turning to glare defiantly at her illithid master.

                Rose, the voice continued angrily, the force of the illithid's commands weighing down on the priestess's mind, get back to work. 

                "I . . . I . . ." Rose struggled against the urge to run back to her station and resume her work. She cast a helpless glance back at the panther, who once again seemed only vaguely familiar.

                That panther is an experiment of mine, her master told her. You are not to go near it. Don't even look at it. I'll have it moved later. Now, go back to work. Rose nodded, suddenly horrified at herself for her behavior. How could she have defied her master like that?! She'd have to work doubly hard to make it up to him . . . 

                Slayer watched his mistress go back to her work, leaving him still locked in the cage, and fell back to the floor of his cage in defeat. He narrowed his eyes at the illithid, as it glared at Rose, and growled low in his throat, before giving up and deciding to fall asleep.


	9. Episode 9

EPISODE 9

                The last two days had been, well...interesting for Ka. Her master had taken only partial control of her mind in order to allow her to learn and exchange thoughts more or less freely. Being a drow psionicist had struck the illithid as odd, and he had decided to experiment with the limitations of Ka's mind. The experiments themselves weren't the atrocious tortures that Ka had expected them to be; instead, they were like long sessions of mental acupuncture, where the illithid school master would poke and prod at the inner recesses of the drowess' mind until she reacted a certain way that he deemed correct.

                However, on the third day of her stay in the Caverns of Thought, Ka was treated to a show.

                Get up, the illithid's command snapped inside Ka's mind; there was nothing she could do about it, getting up and going to sleep was one of the powers that her master had over her. The drowess' eyes fluttered open and she sat up in her bed at once. Her quarters had been somewhat upgraded since her arrival; she had a bed now -- not just a pile of cushions -- and she even had a small chair. Sure it wasn't much, but it was more than what she had when she was first abducted. It occurred to her that the more time she spent with her master, the more comfortable her living quarters became...

                Yawning, Ka slid out of bed and walked over to the closed door at the other end of the room; her master rarely entered her chambers without warning. She pulled on her boots and opened the door; as she stepped into the next room, her master appeared from around a bookshelf and walked towards her.

                I have some interesting items to show you, Ka, the illithid said calmly, halting in front of his slave. Ka eyed the taller creature and blinked.

                "Oh? What are they?" She asked aloud. Her master had made it clear that she wasn't to speak to him telepathically unless it was absolutely necessary...it was most likely a form of protection. Still though, it irritated Ka that she could not pronounce her master's true name for she couldn't call out to him when she needed to. The illithid wiggled its fingers and pointed to an exit at the far left of the main room.

                _Come and you'll see!_ The creature replied and urged Ka in the proper direction. Curious now, Ka strode past her master and into the small room at the back. Upon entering it, her eyes lit up; there were weapons and coins and potions and armor and Lloth only knows what else. She smiled and resisted the urge to snoop around.

                This is my treasury, Ka, the illithid declared as he stepped into the room beside Ka, but this is not what I've come to show you. He moved past the drowess and walked over to a small chest at the other end of the treasury; the creature bent and retrieved a few items from the box, then turned and walked back to Ka.

                In his hands, the illithid held a circlet of sorts and a green robe. Ka examined the items and raised an eyebrow up at her master. "What are they?" She asked eagerly, cocking her head to the side. Surely, if the illithid was bothering to show them to her, they were special in some way. The odd gurgling sound echoed in Ka's mind.

                _Patience! I'm getting there._ The illithid cooed and lead Ka out of the treasury and back into the main room. It sat down in an overstuffed chair and bid Ka to sit down in front of it...on the ground of course. Like a small child, Ka obeyed and looked up at her master with an expecting glare.

                "So...what's with the stuff?" She pressed impatiently. The illithid held up the circlet first; it was silver and had a red gem embedded on the front. 

                This is a circlet of Venilkesk; it allows us to detect undead enemies and do damage to their physical structure rather than their minds, he explained pleasantly, there's only a couple of these going around, so if anyone remarks that they are in need of one, please make a point to inform them that you have never seen one before...I like to keep my treasures to myself. Ka nodded.

                "Sure." She piped and reached up to take the item from her master's hands. How clever of the illithids to have developed a form of defense against the undead; undead creatures had no mind and no body heat to pinpoint them with...they could cause a great deal of trouble to the mind flayers. But with the circlet, everything was just dandy.

                Before Ka got the chance to ask any questions, the illithid held out the green robe; from far, it appeared to be a normal garment, but now that Ka saw it closer, she realized that it was nothing of the sort. Instead of being woven with thread or skin, the robe was a thick maze of interwoven fungi; the robe was bright green and seemed well...alive.

                This is a tessadyle robe, Ka's master explained, it is made of a stringy fungus that grows near our caverns. It is quite a special piece of clothing, too! He wiggled his fingers and eyed the robe thoughtfully; it adjusts to its wearer's physique and gives him a delightful array of psionic abilities. Ka's eyed widened.

                "What kind of abilities?"  She asked greedily. The illithid nodded.

                _Cell readjustment, body equilibrium, body armor and a few others_. He looked down at Ka, and it makes you feel so light and airy that you move faster than normal. 

                Setting the circlet she held aside, Ka reached out to touch the robe's living fabric; so, what her master was saying was that with this robe, she could heal herself, work as if under a haste spell, and create weaponry from scratch?! Ka shook her head; the robe must have cost her master a fortune...

                It WAS quite expensive, actually, the illithid snapped, but I've always been good at betting. He wiggled his fingers gleefully and signaled for Ka to get up from the ground, I want you to put the robe on, Ka.

                Surprised, Ka blinked and jumped to her feet; she took the robe from her master's hands and slipped it over her clothing. The illithid had been right about feeling light...the robe was absolutely weightless despite its thickness and odd texture. Ka moved her arms out and was delighted to feel as though she was somewhat weightless herself -- her muscles felt as though they weren't being used...kinda like motion within a dream. 

                Ka's master sat back in his chair, do you like it? He asked. Ka grinned and nodded as the tessadyle robe seemed to mold to her contours.

                "It's fabulous!" She breathed.

                Good then...it's yours. Came the illithid's quick reply. Ka's head snapped up and she frowned deeply.

                "Why?" She asked at once, positive that this was leading somewhere bad. Her master tapped his pointed fingernails on the armrest of his chair. 

                _Remember when I told you that I had promised to find a good use for you?_ He asked; when Ka nodded suspiciously, he continued, well, I've been asked to make you a morale-booster for combatants in the gladiatorial arena.

                "What's that got to do with this robe?" Ka asked furthermore, wrapping her arms around herself. The illithid shrugged.

                _There are many things that may harm you while you work backstage with the gladiators...I don't care to lose a good slave AND an interesting test subject. The robe will protect you if you should fail to protect yourself..._ He pointed down at the circlet, ...and the circlet of Venilkesk will help as well.

                Ka cast a sidelong glance down at the circlet; the illithid was being blunt about her being a test subject... She bent down and picked up the circlet, then placed it on her head; instantly, she felt the psionically-empowered gem pulsate. So she was going to give fighters pep-talks? What an odd way to spend the rest of her life...

                Seeing his slave fully dressed and ready for her appointed task, Ka's master wiggled his fingers, well then...I'll bring you to the arena right away!

***

                The gladiatorial arena was a huge coliseum where illithid masters took their slaves to fight in order to place bets and view good entertainment. 

                There were many illithids attending the battle arena that day, but Ka -- luckily -- did not have to be in front of an audience. 

                I will be on the second row if you should need me, Ka's master said in parting as he left Ka near the entrance to the arena's backroom, and besides, I'll be monitoring your progress so I'll be in touch. Ka looked tensely in the direction of the back entrance and looked back at her master. 

                "I'm not gonna get mauled by some huge creature in there, am I?" She asked worriedly. Her master shook his head and made a dismissive gesture with his four-fingered hand. 

                _Of course not! Don't be such a weakling_, it snapped in reply. Ka frowned and narrowed her eyes at her master. 

                "Yeah you can say that _now_..." She shook her head and stifled a cynical laugh. She watched her master wiggle his fingers again and the familiar gurgling laughter filled her head; at least she had been enslaved by a good-humored illithid... The curious hand gesture that her master always did struck her as odd because it resembled a gesture that she had seen a human slave do once while speaking with House Venorik'Z'ress' slave mistress. The wiggling of the fingers, for Humans, signified water falling from the sky...rainfall, Ka remembered was what the Human had called it.

                As her master turned to leave, Ka reached out and grasped his arm, "Wait!" She called stiffly. The illithid turned around and pointedly plucked its arm from Ka's grasp. 

                _What is it now?_ He asked impatiently. Ka smiled. 

                "Can I call you Rain?" She asked, feeling extraordinarily out of place, "I mean...I can't pronounce your real name and I would rather think of you as a person rather than an attribute." She raised her eyebrows in expectation. The illithid looked dumbfounded for a moment, and then its tentacles twitched.

                Rain? It asked. Ka grinned and nodded vehemently. 

                "That's right." She piped. There was a dull moment of silence as the illithid considered the nature of the request; finally, he nodded. 

                _As you wish, Ka._ Now get to work! He replied and whirled away.

                Thinking herself pretty smart, Ka did a little dance and disappeared behind the scenes.

***

                Inside the backroom were all the creatures that the illithids had enslaved and set to gladiatorial duty. Ka could actually speak to only a few of them -- races she had seen before in Menzoberranzan -- but with the others, she communicated telepathically.

                At first, Ka just walked around and stared at all the strange faces; but then, she remembered that her master, Rain, was monitoring her progress. There was no way she would fail him...

                Finally, she convinced herself to talk to a few of the less-odd fighters that waited their turn to go out in the arena and prove their worth to their masters. She re-iterated some old war-preparation speeches that she had heard her long-dead House Weapons Master say to his troops before an all-out attack. She wasn't sure if it was working, but it made her feel better to be doing something...

                At the end of her first speech, Ka's eyes fell upon a familiar face: Dil'andau. Forgetting about her purpose for being in the backroom, she darted over to where the dark elf sat. His usually bright eyes were rather dull now; he had been easily conditioned by his illithid master, and that was no maybe. 

                "Dil!" Ka cried and bent down to look into the warrior's face, "Are you okay?" She asked dumbly. The drow warrior looked into her eyes but the look was one devoid of all understanding. 

                "I'm going to fight and win." He grumbled flatly. Rolling her eyes, Ka reached into the male's mind; at length, she sifted through his mental block and reached the soft, recognizable brain underneath.

                Dil, it's me -- Ka.  She said.  The warrior's eyes lit up and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 

                "Ka?" He mused thoughtfully, then he blinked and brought his hands to his head; it was hurting him to be going through all this mental stress…

                Dil'andau, I'm here to tell you that you're going to win out there today...I know you can! I saw you attack that squid back in the caves and you can do it again today in front of all the illithids. She reassured the male, reaching out a hand and stroking his thick snowy mane. Dil'andau looked up at Ka through a curtain of hair. 

                "I...I..t-thank y...you." He managed, fighting through the sudden jolt of crisscrossed mental transmissions. Ka smiled loosely and crouched down, then pulled the warrior's hands from his face and smiled at him. 

                _Okay, enough now...I'll leave you alone and you'll be alright_, she soothed and cut the connection between herself and Dil's original consciousness. 

                Between the time where his master's conditioning fully returned and Ka's connection cut off, Dil'andau's mind was able to 'see' one last thing: the drowess placed a kiss on his forehead.

***

                As Ka had expected, Dil'andau fought in the arena and won. His opponent had been a dwarven axe man; the fight had been oddly mismatched and Dil'andau had been uncomfortable with the height difference. However, despite Ka's glee at seeing Dil'andau prevail over the midget, things had not gone so well after the fight.

                As soon as Dil'andau struck the killing blow, the dwarf's master threw a fit. It just so happened that the dwarf had been a champion for a few weeks now and that the illithid who owned him hadn't expected to lose the fight that day. He had made some absurd bets and had lost everything to Dil's master.

                Ka jumped when the door to the backroom slammed open; she pressed herself to the wall and watched, wide-eyed, as an enraged illithid stalked through the room, looking for someone. It suddenly occurred to her that the illithid was looking for Dil'andau; it didn't take her long after that to realize who the illithid was -- he was the dwarf's master and he was looking for revenge.

                Something went off in Ka's mind and she ran past the illithid, nearly knocking it over in her haste. She positioned herself in front of the entranced Dil'andau and threw out her arms defensively. As _if_ she was going to let the illithid harm Dil! 

                Take your rage out on the dark elf's master! Ka cried telepathically to the illithid, completely ignoring the fact that the creatures did not like to be mentally intruded upon. It was ironic, really.  She watched as the dwarf's master balled up his fists. There was about a space of one second when Ka realized that she should have minded her own business...

                The illithid lashed out at her with a mental blast that rendered unconscious on impact.

                As Ka crumbled to the ground at Dil'andau's feet, two other illithids stormed into the back room.

                Halt! Dil'andau's master cried to the dwarf's master, this is childish and unnecessary! It went on, and hurried over to its fellow illithid, roughly pulling it away from Dil. He and the dwarf's master began to argue over the outcome of the fight as another illithid brushed by them.

                Rain, who had suddenly lost connection with Ka, idly hefted the limp drowess over his shoulder and walked out of the backroom, leaving the two other illithids to argue over their bet.

***

                A few hours later, Ka woke up in her bed; groaning, she opened her eyes and looked up into the face of her master Rain. 

                The illithid was dangling a small pendant over her nose. Greetings! It called cheerily, as though she had been gone on a trip of some sort instead of being unconscious. I have a present for you! It piped.

                Ka's first thought was Dil'andau. Was he alright? Had his master agreed to have him killed in exchange for harming the dwarf's master's feelings? Would she ever see him again?

                "Another present?" The drowess asked drowsily, squinting in order to get a closer look at the pendant dangling over her face. As she examined it, she instantly recognized it as her own; her hand went to her throat, where her ruby pendant usually sat...but the pendant was gone. "That's mine!" She cried in frustration. Rain gurgled and pulled the pendant out of Ka's reach, causing her to have to sit up. 

                Yes, it is. I took it from you while you were passed out. I've implemented it with psionic circuitry -- it's a mind shield now, Ka, the illithid explained. Ka sat up and snatched the pendant back from Rain's hand; she scanned it quickly for any signs of damage, then fastened it around her neck and covered it protectively with her hand. 

                "My father gave me this pendant, Rain." She lectured her master then thought for a bit and raised an eyebrow at him, "Why are you giving me a mind shield?" She asked curiously. Rain's tentacles twitched. 

                I would think that with what happened today you'd understand why I'm giving you a mind shield, the illithid replied in a dull voice, it will protect you from anything and everything. Rain paused, and yes, I know that this could backfire on me. But don't be so foolish as to believe that by wearing that mind shield, you're no longer my slave, he added pointedly. Ka sighed and released the ruby; she shook her head, 

                "Of course not, Rain." She retorted and dropped back down onto her pillow.

                Her thoughts shifted to her brother...


	10. Episode 10

EPISODE 10

            Rose stared longingly at the door of the room she was working in, struggling against the urge to bolt for it. She'd never make it. She knew that for a fact. Her master had set two of the other slaves working in the room to watching her when he was gone since her connection to Lloth interfered with his mind control if he didn't make contact with her every so often. She'd already tried three times to escape, and each time she'd failed. The other two slaves had reported her both times and she hadn't made it beyond the hallway outside the room before her master reappeared and she felt the hated shame and self-loathing at disappointing him as she'd done. She couldn't stand that feeling. When his mind touched hers and she wanted nothing more than to please him . . . despair welled up within her as she turned her gaze from the door and from Slayer's pleading gaze (she was convinced her master had left the panther there just to torment her) and back to making salves and potions.

                "Oh Zojikoe," she murmured quietly, fighting back tears, "I forgive you for getting me into this whole mess. Just please . . . please just get me out of it!"  
  


***  
                Mezzen stared at his master in dismay.

                "But . . . but why?!" He asked. "I . . . I don't want to go!" His master glared at him.

                _Oh honestly, Mezzen!_ It snapped_. I've spoiled you rotten I think! I have to go away for a day or two, and I'm not leaving you here to your own devices._ It leveled an angry glare at the boy_. I've seen you talking to that other slave, and I'm starting to wonder what the two of you talk about._

                "Nothing," Mezzen said defensively. "I just . . . talk to him is all. I never have anybody to talk to around here! There's nobody like me around here who doesn't walk around like a vegetable! Except for Zoe! He's not totally gone yet, and he still remembers some stuff! Like . . . like . . ." Suddenly remembering who he was talking to, Mezzen lowered his eyes and sniffled. "Can't you just . . . leave me here? Please? Get Zoe to watch me!" The illithid snorted derisively.

                _That would imply trusting you_, it responded. _And I don't. No, Mezzen, my decision is final. Take what you need for a couple days and meet me outside in a few minutes. And no more arguments!_ Without waiting for the boy to reply the illithid glided out of the room. Mezzen sighed irritably and got to his feet.

                "It's not fair!" He said sulkily, kicking his bed. "Now I won't get to see Zojikoe!" Using a few words he'd heard Zojikoe use the night before when the mage had stubbed his toe, the little boy gathered up his things, shoved them in a bag and walked out into the hallway to meet his master.

                _Don't pout_, his master told him irritably. _Mezzen, you're to be on your best behavior, understand? I don't need you making a fool out of me._

                "I will be," Mezzen said, just a touch petulantly. "I promise I'll be good."

                Not quite an hour later, Mezzen found himself staring around at his temporary new quarters, his temporary new master behind him.

                _Have you ever been to a gladiator match?_ The illithid asked curiously. Mezzen shook his head and put his bag on the small bed.

                "No," he said. "I don't think so." The illithid nodded to itself.

                _Well_, it said, _since I'm stuck with you tomorrow anyway, I suppose I may as well take you. I've got a gladiator in the arena, he's a drow, like you, and he's quite the fighter!_ The illithid grinned vainly. _He has yet to be defeated!_

                "What's his name?" Mezzen asked curiously.

                _Why does it matter?_ The illithid asked. _Dil something or other I think. I don't know. It's not really important._ He didn't notice Mezzen's eyes suddenly growing wide and startled.

                "Dil?" He asked. "Dil'andau?!"

                _Yes, I think that's it_, the illithid said. _Not a very bright drow . . . but an excellent fighter. He'll be worth the investment that one_. It walked out of the room rubbing it's tentacled hands together in anticipation of the profits Dil'andau would bring and shut the door behind it. Mezzen jumped to his feet and cheered in excitement, quieting down when the illithid stuck its head back in through the door and gave him an odd look.

                "Sorry," he said, trying to contain his excitement. The illithid shook its head and closed the door again. Mezzen gave a quieter cheer. "This is great!" He gasped. "Dil'andau! Zojikoe talked about him! Maybe the others will be here! Ka . . . and . . . and Rose!" He paused at that thought. What was Rose like, anyway? He'd heard Zojikoe's descriptions of her . . . was she really like that? "Maybe I'll get to meet her!" He said suddenly. Then he paused. "But what if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks I'm annoying?! What if she hates me!" He groaned and fell back on his bed. "Maybe this isn't going to be as good as I thought . . ." Then his expression hardened with determination. "But I'll never know if I don't at least try . . . all I've gotta do is find Dil'andau . . . maybe he'll know where the others are." He grinned to himself and settled back on his pillows, yawning sleepily.

                "Zoe will be so happy . . ."  
  
***  
  
                Zojikoe sighed unhappily as he settled into his bed to rest. He hadn't seen Mezzen that night and was surprised at how disappointed he was. The little kid was starting to grow on the mage. He reached into his robes and pulled out the spider tiara that belonged to Rose and held it for a minute, studying it in the dim light of his room.

                "I'm sorry . . ." He said quietly. "I promise, Rose, I'll find a way to get us out of this." But until then he had to find a way to keep himself from collapsing completely beneath the illithids' mind control. Mezzen had suggested something that would keep him busy. A detailed task involving most of his attention and focus . . . and completely unrelated to illithids.

                "Maybe I'll make something," he murmured to himself. He balanced the spider tiara idly on one hand. "Something for Rose . . ." A slow smile spread across his face. "Yeah. That's what I'll do!" He jumped to his feet. "I'll make something for Rose!" He paused. "But what?!"  
  


***  
  


                Mezzen cheered excitedly as the two gladiators duked it out in the arena below. His temporary master turned to look at him.

                _Are you enjoying yourself?_ It asked in its watery voice. Mezzen grinned and nodded.

                "This is so cool!" He cried. The illithid started to laugh but it was drowned out by the wild cheering of the crowd.

                "Oh no! What'd I miss?!" It cried out loud, whirling back around to the fight. Mezzen was about to turn back to the fight as well but something small and moving caught his eye and he looked down to investigate. A small spider was crawling along below where his feet were swinging off the bench, not quite long enough to reach the ground. It reminded him of the spider hair piece that Zojikoe always carried around with him. At the thought of his friend, Mezzen was suddenly reminded of his purpose in coming here. It wasn't the fight . . . 

                Waiting until he was sure that his temporary master, as well as the other illithids around him, were completely engrossed in what was happening in the ring, the small boy slipped quietly out of his seat and moved through the crowd, not quite sure where he was going, but positive he was headed in the right general direction.

                It took him only a few minutes to realize he was hopelessly lost.

                He plunked himself down dejectedly on a nearby bench and sulked. _Now I'll never find Dil'andau_, he thought in despair. _Which means I'll never find Rose, or Ka, or anybody else! And I'll probably be lost forever and I'll never see Zoe again either! I'll be stuck here forever and I'll be eaten by one of those gladiators and nobody would ever know I was missing!_

                Before he could slip further into self-pity, however, a flash of color caught his eye and he turned to look. He saw a drowess, dressed in a green robe and with a silver circlet on her head pacing impatiently back and forth in front of a door. Mezzen cocked his head to one side and studied her.

                _Hey, she looks a lot like Zoe . . . only crankier . . ._ he thought to himself. He was about to approach her when the mingled sounds of cheering and booing erupted from the arena and a bloodied gladiator stumbled into the narrow alley they were in. The drowess impatiently herded the gladiator inside and started to shut the door. Mezzen, deciding that whatever was through that door had to be better than being lost forever and getting eaten, bolted off his seat and just managed to get in through the door before it closed. He took one look at the array of fierce looking warriors (many of which with claws and teeth and other things) and suddenly decided that he'd rather be lost forever.

                "You!" Snapped a voice to his side. "What are you doing here?! You shouldn't be in here. Where's your master?!" Mezzen shrieked in fright and started to run off but a hand caught his shoulder and spun him around. He drew in a several startled breaths when he realized it was the drowess.

                "Geez, lady!" He cried. "Don't you know it's not nice to sneak up on a kid like that?! You scared me!" Her mouth dropped in shock for a moment, then closed with a snap and her eyes narrowed.

                "Watch your tone, kid," she hissed. "We may not be in Menzoberranzan, or even Ched Nasad, but I'm still an adult female." Mezzen gave her a blank look.

                "So?" He asked.

                "Why you little .. . oh, never mind. What are you doing here, kid?" She demanded suddenly. "You're not supposed to be back here." Mezzen scratched his head nervously.

                "I . . . I . . . was looking for . . . um . . . Dil'andau actually," he said. "I . . . um . . . wanted to talk to him." The drowess' eyes widened in surprise then narrowed.

                "What do you want with my Dil?" She asked suspiciously. Mezzen gave a small start.

                "Y . . . you're Dil?" He asked. His eyes widened. "I knew it!" He cried. "You _are_ Ka! I did it! I found you! Is Rose here? Can I meet her?" Ka eyed Mezzen and took a startled step back.

                "What . . . what are you talking about? How do you know about me, and Dil, and Rose?" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you up to, kid?"

                "This is so great!" Mezzen went on as though he hadn't heard. "Just wait until Zoe hears! He'll be so happy!"

                "Zoe!" Ka cried. "Zojikoe?" Her arm shot out and she grabbed the excited boy by the front of his robes, whipping him around to face her. "What do you know about my brother?" She demanded. Mezzen squeaked in fright and squirmed in her grasp.

                "He's my friend!" He cried. "We talk whenever he gets back from massaging the brain! He . . . he's mentioned you and Dil'andau and Rose and . . . and . . . I thought, if I could find you . . . then . . . well, I never really thought past finding you. But that's okay, 'cause Zoe's really smart! He'll know what to do!" Ka blinked, then started laughing, letting go of her grip on Mezzen's clothes.

                "Zoe . . ." She giggled. "Really smart . . ." She laughed again. "Kid that's the funniest thing I've heard in a while! My brother's an idiot! He couldn't find his way out of a paper bag!" She stood up straighter, ignoring Mezzen's mumbled "he is not" as the beginnings of a plan started to form in her mind. "Here," she said suddenly, taking her pendant from around her neck and dropping it over Mezzen's. "Give that to Zoe. It will release him of his master's control over him. This is important kid, so listen up. Tell him to find Rose and use it on her. I'll take care of Dil'andau." The door opened suddenly and Ka straightened up immediately. "Who's that?" She wondered softly. Mezzen groaned.

                "My babysitter," he muttered. "I think I'm in trouble."

                "It doesn't matter," Ka said, gripping his shoulder and steering him towards the illithid. "Just remember what I told you. Don't forget to tell Zojikoe, or I swear to Lloth, kid, I'll have your head, understand me?" Mezzen nodded mutely as Ka threw him towards his temporary master.

                "This yours?" She asked in the most respectful tone she could muster.

                "Yes," the illithid said sourly. "Unfortunately." It grabbed Mezzen and shoved him towards the door without so much as another word to Ka. "You," it said, "have a lot of explaining to do."  
  
***  
  


                Zojikoe grinned to himself as he worked on his present for Rose. _She'll love it!_ He thought to himself. _At least … I hope_ - he was interrupted by the door creaking slowly open. With a startled gasp he threw his work under the bed and whirled around.

                "Mezzen!" He exclaimed in surprise. "Hey kid! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a few days!" Mezzen's eyes brightened.

                "Just wait 'till I tell you!" He cried excitedly, bouncing into the room. "I went to the arena! And I got to watch a bunch of guys beat each other up! It was so great! Oh! But that isn't even the best part!" he pulled Ka's pendant off his neck and handed it to Zoe. "You'll never guess who I met there!"

                "Ka!" Zoe breathed in shock. Mezzen blinked, then pouted.

                "You weren't supposed to guess," he said.

                "Where did you meet Ka?" Zojikoe asked, startled.

                "At the arena!" Mezzen said exasperatedly. "And Dil'andau was with her. She had a message for you.  She said . . . um . . . she said . . . um . . . uh-oh . . ."

                "What uh-oh?" Zojikoe asked. "Oh, Mezzen, you didn't forget did you?!"

                "Of course not!" Mezzen cried indignantly. "She told me if I did she'd take my head!" Zojikoe rolled his eyes.

                "Well, at least I know you were definitely talking to Ka," he muttered. "So what did she say then?"

                "It's got something to do with that pendant," Mezzen said. "I . . . I was kind of worked up at the time - "

                "You're always worked up," Zojikoe pointed out. Mezzen ignored him.

                "So I didn't really understand a lot of it, but I'm pretty sure she said that the pendant would protect you from the illithids' mind control. And . . . she said to find Rose and save her, and she'd take care of Dil'andau."

                "Dil'andau," Zojikoe muttered. "That son of a bitch . . . I mean . . . that bad, bad man." He corrected himself in a vain attempt to stop swearing in front of Mezzen.

                "Son of a bitch?" Mezzen repeated curiously, then frowned. "What's a bitch?"

                "Nothing!" Zoe said hastily. "It doesn't matter." He slipped his sister's pendant on around his neck. "Come on, son," he said, getting to his feet. "We've got work to do!"


	11. Episode 11

EPISODE 11

                Two days had passed since Ka had given the mind shield to Zoe. On the first day, she had eagerly returned to the gladiatorial arena, in hopes of finding Dil'andau there once more; unfortunately for her, the fighter was not attending the tournament that day. Ka feared that the drow's master had perhaps decided to set Dil'andau to a task other than combat, due to the unfortunate incident the day before with the dwarven warrior's master. On the second day, things did not look any better for Ka -- Dil'andau was missing once again.

                On the third day, however, things were looking up...sort of. 

_                What's wrong with you?_ Rain asked Ka as the two of them slowly made their way through the community, heading towards the arena. _You're not as eager as you used to be. Are you worried about being attacked again?_ He asked. Ka sighed heavily and shook her head, not bothering to look over at the illithid.

                "No...I'm just tired is all." She lied, forgetting the futility of an action of the sort in a place like the Caverns of Thought. Rain made an impatient gesture with his hand and looked down at the drowess who trudged along at his side. 

                _Don't lie to me, dark elf. You're wasting your time. This is about that fighter isn't it?_ He snapped irritably. He didn't wait for Ka to react before continuing his speech. _I have never understood the things you underlings call emotion; it seems to me that all that nonsense is a waste of time and energy. One can live effectively without succumbing to things such as the crippling 'love' abomination or the ever-pointless 'pity' phenomena._ Ka rolled her eyes and looked up at her master. 

                "Hey! I don't succumb to pity or love!" She defended at once; her lips curled up into a smile just as soon, "But I'm quite allowed to find another member of my race, of the opposite sex, handsome." She laughed and nodded firmly, content at the defying effect of her words. She took a moment to consider what she'd said then and decided that she had just revealed something to herself. She _did_ find Dil'andau handsome; despite his lack of intelligence, childish behaviour and disgusting manners, the dark elven warrior was actually an alright fellow...he could even be interesting at times, _if_ he kept quiet and let his brain be picked at without complaining. Rain threw his arms up and shook his head. 

                _Nonsense! Why even bother with a hassle like finding a mate based on physical appearance?! It's ridiculous! It shows how petty you creatures are, and how inferior your mental development is_. He argued instantly. Illithids were amphibious creatures that reproduced by need and nothing more; emotions and physical appearance were completely alien to them. 

                "Way to put me down there, champ." Ka muttered in response, using her brother's preferred insult; she smiled as she said it, a burst of longing surging through her, and then she swept the feeling aside and frowned up at Rain, "You're just jealous." She pertly returned, smirking triumphantly. Rain drew back and then muttered something in his native tongue that Ka could not understand. 

                _Watch your mouth, slave._ He chimed and stalked up ahead. 

                Ka laughed again and hurried after him.

***

               Ka felt somewhat cheerier than she had a couple days before as she stepped into the back room of the gladiatorial arena. The little chat with Rain had lifted her spirits -- despite the numerous insults she had been victim to.

               With a big grin spread across her face, Ka closed the door behind her and whirled to face all the mismatched gladiators that awaited their turn in the arena, "Vendui all you freaks!" She cried enthusiastically, "I feel like singing today, so you're all gonna have to suffer, alright?!" She went on, nodding to her 'audience'. 

               There came no reply to her words; the slaves turned their attention to her, staring straight ahead with their hollow, soul-less eyes.

               Ka clapped her hands together after a moment's silence, "Alright, you asked for it!" She warned and immediately began singing her old House war tune, the one the Weapons Master of House Venorik'Z'ress would sing in the halls before he died those many years ago. Along with her singing, Ka strode back and forth through the tightly-packed aisle, waving her arms and spinning about like a young girl on her first sugar-rush.

               As she came to the end of the line, towards the fighters who were set to fight next, Ka stopped in mid-sentence and gasped. For the first time since she'd last seen him, there sat Dil'andau, staring blankly in her direction with a frown on his face. 

               "Dil!" The drowess cried and grasped the man's arms. "Where have you been?!" She demanded pointlessly; it wasn't as though the drow would be talking to her. Never-the-less, Ka smiled wide and kept her eyes firmly set on Dil'andau's. "I'm not quite sure if you can hear me, but I have some good news to tell you." She squeezed his arms in an unconscious effort to rouse his senses. "Two days ago, a boy came here and told me of Zoe and Rose. I gave the kid my pendant, which is now a mind shield by the way--" She paused, holding back the urge to laugh at the fact that Dil's current blank expression was probably the same as what he'd given her if she would have tried to explain the matter to him while he was fully conscious, "--and I told him to give it to Zoe so that Zoe could free Rose. We may be getting out of this real soon!"

                There came a cheer from outside the room; it would appear that another duel had come to an end. Ka frowned and growled at the frustration of not getting any response from Dil'andau, but released her grip on his arms and stepped back from him.

               "Looks like you're up, Dil!" She piped, "Who's your opponent this time?" She asked -- yet another pointless question. She watched a moment as the drow's facial expression changed, and then he turned away from her and headed towards the door that lead out to the arena. His master had just alerted him that it was his turn to fight, and he had obeyed by stepping out of the backroom.

               Ka watched him go and sighed when he opened the door to reveal the massive arena outside. Although she made an effort to remain optimistic about his martial skills, she couldn't help but be apprehensive when he stepped into the Ring of Likely Death.

               _Why don't you go outside and watch then?_ Rain's placid voice chimed inside her mind.

               Ka jumped at the interruption, but did not turn down the logical offer; she would have returned a telepathic message to her master, but she promptly remembered that she was not allowed to communicate with Rain in such a manner unless it was an emergency.

               Without much hesitation, Ka darted off after Dil'andau just as the door to the back room swung shut behind her. She stopped and stayed put once her feet set upon the sandy floor of the arena, while Dil'andau walked on ahead to the center. 

               The green-clad drowess was about to sit down and make herself comfortable, when the door to the back room opened up again; out stepped a creature as tall as an illithid, but that looked like a giant praying mantis. Ka gasped and jumped back towards the arena wall as the thing passed by her and headed towards Dil'andau. It was a mantis warrior! A thrikreen! The warrior belonged to a race of insectoid creatures with moderate intelligence that lived in large colonies in the far reaches of the Fungi Caverns; they were skilled fighters with no less than the polearm...or halberd, if you prefer.

               Ka drew in a sharp breath and blinked as she watched the brittle-looking creature head towards her fellow drow, "That thing's got a _stick_...just like Dil'andau!" She cried, in reference to the halberd; she took a few steps forward, being careful to stay within her boundaries, and frowned deeply, "Hey Dil! It's got a stick too!" She cried to the other dark elf, but there was no response.

               Despite his mental state, Dil'andau grinned upon seeing the mantis warrior. It had a halberd! This pleased him greatly, for the halberd was an older, unpopular weapon that few bothered to train with anymore. Dil'andau had chosen to master it for this fact, and because he found it suited his fighting style. If the mantis thought it stood a chance against him, it was sorely wrong.

               With a cry, Dil'andau heaved his blade in a wide, diagonal sweep, sending the mantis on its guard and starting the battle once and for all. The mantis hissed and took a defensive position; it decided that it would not attack Dil'andau until Dil'andau attacked it.

               Undaunted, the drow charged forward and dipped low to the side, sweeping his halberd at the mantis' spindly, spiny legs. Cleverly, the mantis scurried back and hooked Dil's blade, effectively prying it away from its vicinity. It met the drow's blade with its own as he slipped back to full height to counter a skull-crushing blow. The mantis launched a few jabs and tight, low cuts at Dil'andau in hopes of sending the drow on the defensive, but its efforts were all in vain.

               Dil'andau smiled and promptly locked the shaft of the creature's weapon against its chest and roughly shoved the mantis away from him. Deftly, he repositioned his blade and charged the green insect-thing for the second time during the fight. 

               The creature and the drow entered a particularly quick, graceful routine of short, sharp cuts and powerful blocks. It didn't look it, but the momentum with which even the smallest of maneuvers was executed was immense, and to block just about any attack, the defender would have to use an amazing amount of strength. 

               During this time, the audience was abuzz and excited. Ka, on the sidelines, bit her nails and jumped up and down nervously. "Go Dilly!!!" She cried at the top of her voice, over and over again until her throat burned. She was so proud to see him fight this well, but it was such a dangerous game to play!

               It was that particular cry on Ka's behalf that switched the fight's momentum.

               Dil'andau and the mantis locked each other in a test of strength, each trying to pry the other -- and their blade -- away. There was nothing on Dil's mind at the time...nothing at all but the desire to win and please his master...but then Ka's last, shrill cry of encouragement sounded in his ears and in his _brain_. 

               The drow's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He _recognized_ the voice! It was the annoying little psion Ka! Dil'andau drew in a sharp breath and, without thinking twice, turned his head to look in the direction of the voice. As his eyes fell upon a familiar little figure in a garish green robe, he was thrown back violently.

               The mantis, having used Dil'andau's moment of weakness, bolted towards its opponent and hacked down on Dil's weapon until he fell to the ground on his backside. The mantis reared up and brought its halberd down at Dil'andau, sensing impending victory, but the drow raised his own halberd and blocked the massive blow.

               Wondering why on earth he didn't feel his master's presence anymore, Dil'andau realized in just what kind of situation he was currently in. He struggled to get to his feet, but the creature stabbed down at him viciously with the blade of its lengthy weapon. Frightened now and unable to do anything but squirm and wriggle away from the ugly mantis, Dil'andau cried out for help.

               Ka, unlike the illithids who were too entranced in the fight to notice, heard the cry. She blinked and gaped; could weak-minded Dil have broken through his mental block?! Why else would he have asked for help?! The drowess whimpered and fought with herself about whether she should help her fellow dark elf or disobey her master.

               Meanwhile, the mantis' incessant stabbing finally paid off. It hissed triumphantly as its halberd's blade dug firmly into Dil'andau's arm, pinning the drow in place.

               Dil'andau's blood-curdling scream snapped Ka out of her internal debate. The drowess, seeing Dil's dire situation, took off at a dead run, heading straight for the center of the arena. "_DIL'ANDAU!!!_" She screeched, having found her voice all of a sudden. "_DIL'ANDAU!!!_"

               The mantis looked up from its victim to see Ka running towards it; for a moment, it looked utterly confused as to what to do, but then it sunk its blade deeper into Dil'andau's upper arm, slashing him up into his shoulder muscle, and turned on Ka, leaving its halberd planted in the fallen drow.

               Ka stopped dead as the mantis produced a knife from the scaly folds of its midsection. She knew very well that the knife was poisoned -- the thrikreen poisoned all their weapons...did that mean that the halberd had been poisoned as well? 

               The very thought of it drove Ka mad; she pointed to the oncoming mantis and sneered, "You _dare_ incur my _wrath_!?!" She screamed and closed her eyes. She searched out the mantis' brain with her own and once she found it, she ginned. 

                The illithids in the audience watched as the mantis warrior's head quite literally exploded in a gooey mess.

               That over with, Ka opened her eyes and darted for Dil'andau. She dropped to her knees by his side and rested her hand on the shaft of the halberd sticking out of his bloody arm. "Oh Dil!" She moaned and leaned over him; she was happy to see that his eyes weren't dead as they had been a few moments ago. "Are you okay?" She asked dumbly. The drow winced and managed to give Ka a comical look. 

                "Well I've got a stick in my arm, but other than that..." He choked sarcastically. Ka managed a smile and touched Dil'andau's face gently, brushing his hair out of his eyes. 

                "We've got to get you some help, fast." She considered taking the blade out of his shoulder and arm, but then figured that it was blocking the bleeding; she clenched her hands into fists and growled, unable to think of what to do to help. If only she was a priestess... A voice thundered inside Ka's mind then, interrupting her train of thought. 

                _You killed my gladiator! _It roared_._ The drowess looked up at the audience and tried to pinpoint the owner of the voice. 

                _He was going to kill Dil'andau!_ She screamed telepathically in return, no longer caring if she violated the illithids' instructions by sending a telepathic reply.

               It did not take long for Ka to be punished. The psychic blast that the dead mantis' master sent her way was horrendously painful. The drowess cried out and put up her own mental block, but the enraged master continued his assault, bent on making her pay for her foolish actions. 

               _Rain!!!_ Ka cried telepathically. _Rain, help me please!!!_ She pleaded and bent forward, bringing her hands to her head as a set of tears rolled down her cheeks. It would not be long until she dropped into unconsciousness or death...whichever came first.

               Rain reacted instantly, warning the attacking master to stop his assault. Being a respected member of the illithid community, Rain had effect on the enraged master's actions...but not without a couple psychic blasts, of course. 

               As pandemonium struck in the arena, Rain made his way down to the fighting ring and approached Ka, who looked up at him with tears in her eyes and a horrified expression on her face. _Aren't you wearing your mind shield? Are you faking this for _his_ sake?_ He demanded, pointing down at Dil'andau. Ka shook her head and struggled to get to her feet, but she found she couldn't. 

                "No! I..I gave the mind shield to a friend." She explained instantly, unsure about how her master would take the news. Rain cocked his head to the side. 

                _Oh? Why? It better have been a good reason if it was worth going through what you just went through._ He snapped then gestured for her follow him away. _Now come, we must away and you must explain what all this mess is about. _Ka held the illithid's arm. 

                "Wait." She called; when her master turned to face her, she motioned to Dil'andau. "Take him with us." She demanded.

                Rain's tentacles twitched, and then he turned to look up at the rapidly-leaving audience; he pinpointed another illithid that was heading their way.

               Ka watched tensely as Rain 'spoke' to what appeared to be Dil'andau's master. She smiled as she felt Dil's bloodied hand over hers; she turned to look at the fighter and he gave her a wink. Done with the drow's master, Rain returned his attention to Ka and Dil'andau. 

                _I can take him home, but it's going to cost me, so hurry up and get moving._ He snapped moodily.

               "Ummm...what do I do about this?" Ka asked, grabbing the halberd that pinned Dil to the ground. Rain looked at it a moment and then shrugged. On the ground, Dil'andau moaned.

                "Oh for the love of Lloth!"


	12. Episode 12

EPISODE 12                 Mezzen hopped from one foot to the other anxiously, his small fist clenched tightly around the chain of the pendant Ka had given him to give to Zoe.  He watched the slaves shuffle out of the Central Brain's room, waiting for Zoe, who was always the last, much to the little boy's annoyance. 

                "Where is he?"  The little boy demanded in irritation.  He was eager to be off.  Ever since he had first met Ka in the Gladiator's Arena, he and Zoe had been going out every night trying to hunt down Rose.  When Zojikoe would walk out of the Central Brain's room, Mezzen would run up and give him the pendant, freeing him from the illithid control and allowing them to search easier, without Mezzen having to keep feeding him a line about a shortcut to the sleeping chambers.  So far they hadn't had much luck, but they had at least managed to narrow down the areas.  The only place they hadn't checked yet was the rooms where the slaves were put to work making salves and potions for their masters.  Mezzen hopped from one foot to the next again.  He couldn't wait to meet Rose.

                His face fell, however, when an illithid slammed shut the doors to the central brain's room.  Zojikoe had still not come out yet.

                "Uh-oh," he said, trying to fight down the panic he felt rising in him.  How was he supposed to get Zojikoe, if he was still in the central brain's room?  How was he supposed to find Rose, if he didn't have Zojikoe?  What would Zoe's sister do to him if he didn't find Zoe, _or_ Rose?!

                _If you're looking for your friend, said a watery voice beside him, _you won't find him here._  Mezzen squeaked in fright and whirled around, staring in surprise at his master.  The little boy put a hand to his heart._

                "I know you're still mad at me for running off the other day," he said heavily, "not that I ran off, of course, but could you please not sneak up on me like that?  Please?  It's not very nice."  The illithid looked amused.

                _You didn't run off?  It asked. __Then what would you call it?_

                "I got lost!"  Mezzen protested.  "It's not my fault!  I'm just a little kid!"  The illithid shook its head.

                _Your friend is up in his room already, it told him.  __I sent him up there because he looked too worn out to do a good job.  It gave Mezzen a stern look.  _You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?_  Mezzen painted an innocent expression on his face._

                "Of course not!  I don't keep him up that late!  I just talk to him for a bit, and then he goes to bed!"  It wasn't a lie, depending on how you defined 'late', and 'a bit'.  He hesitated for a moment.  "So . . . are you done with me now?"

                _For the time being, his master answered.  __Go and play for a bit.  I'll call you when I need you.  Nodding gratefully Mezzen ran off towards the sleeping chambers, Ka's pendant still clutched tightly in his hand.  The illithid shook his head._

                _The others are right, it decided.  _I'm spoiling him.__

***

                Rose watched miserably as her last glimpse of light was taken away with the slam of the door.

                "Wait!"  She cried.  "Wait!  Please!  I'll be good!"

                _No you won't, her master snapped irritably.  __Now shut up and go to sleep._

                "I'm a priestess of Lloth, dammit!"  She cried, pounding on the door of the small closet she had been locked in.  "You can't do this to me!"  The illithid's watery laughter echoed in her head.

                _I just did, it sneered.  _You're more trouble than you're worth, Rose.  Tomorrow I'm going to look for a buyer for you.  You'd better hope I find one or the only thing you're going to be good for is a meal._  Rose blanched and fell back against the wall of the closet, sliding slowly to the small floor._

                _Enjoy these last few moments of mental freedom, Rose, it snapped.  __I'll be back in an hour to put you out for the night.  The illithid's presence faded from Rose's mind and the drowess dropped her head onto her knees, biting her lip against the urge to cry.  In an attempt to distract herself from thoughts of her uncertain fate, she began to sing softly, letting the melody drown out her thoughts and fears.  Most of her fears, anyway . . . _

***

                "It's hopeless," Zojikoe sighed as he and Mezzen walked down the hallway.  Ka's pendant was cool against his chest.  "We've been to all the rooms here and she's not in any of them!"  Mezzen frowned, blowing a thick bang out of his eyes.

                "It's not hopeless," he said.  "We've still got half this hallway to go!  She's got to be in one of these rooms!  Unless, of course, her master's eaten her . . . not that he would," the little boy amended hastily upon seeing the look on Zojikoe's face.  "They don't usually eat their slaves."

                "Let's keep looking," Zoe said.  They split up again, each taking a side of the hallway and opening the doors on either side.  They saw lots of different creatures making potions and salves, but none of them were Rose.  Zojikoe reached the last door and opened it slowly, peeking in side.  At first glance that room seemed just like all the others, but then he spotted the large cage at the front of the room.  His eyes widened as he recognized the feline form lying in the cage. 

                "Slayer!"  He gasped.  "But where's Rose?"  He didn't see her in the room anywhere.  He did, however, catch the eye of an illithid, glaring at him.  "I . . .uh . . . sorry," he managed.  "I was . . . looking for someone, but . . . they're . . . um . . . not here, so . . . I'll just go now."  He ducked out and shut the door before the illithid could reply.

                "Did you find her?"  Mezzen asked, appearing suddenly behind the mage.  Zojikoe cried out in surprise and jumped around.  Mezzen giggled.

                "No, I did not find her," Zojikoe said irritably.  He paused.  "I found her cat though.  She can't be far . . ."

                "The panther?!"  Mezzen said excitedly.  "Can I see?"

                "No," Zojikoe said.  "Not right now, there's a cranky illithid in there at the moment.  You'll be able to see him after.  Right now we have to find Rose."  Mezzen sighed in disappointment and eyed the door longingly as Zoe walked away down the hall.  He cast a quick glance over his shoulder at Zojikoe.

                "Just one little peek can't hurt . . ."  He told himself, reaching for the door.  "Zoe will never know!"

                Zojikoe sighed as he shut the door to the last room.  Rose wasn't in there either.

                "Well, that's it then," he said.  "We've looked everywhere and there's no sign of her."  He leaned his head back against the wall and sighed.  He thought back to before they had been captured by the illithids.  He could remember Rose singing something once.  He frowned and tried to remember the words.  He could almost hear her singing them . . . 

                "Hey wait a minute," he frowned.  "I CAN hear her singing them!"  He whirled around, eyes wide.  "Rose?"  He called quietly.  "Rose?  Where are you?"  The singing stopped abruptly.

                "Zoe?"  A small voice asked.  "Zoe?  Is that you?"

                "Rose!"  Zoe gasped.  "It's me!  Where are you?"

                "In here!"  She cried.  A door just to his left shook.  "It locked me in here!  Zoe, please!  Get me out of here!"  Zoe bolted for the door, turning the knob and finding it locked.

                "Hmmmm," he said.  He placed both his hands on the knob and whispered an incantation.  The lock opened with an audible, snick, and he ripped open the door.  Rose toppled out into his arms with a sob.

                "Zojikoe!"  She cried, clutching him tightly.  "Oh Zoe!  I never thought I'd see you again!"  He wrapped his arms around her tightly, surprised at how relieved he was to see her alive and well.  It was like he'd been holding his breath since the last time he'd seen her and he only now remembered to breathe.

                "Shhh," he said, "it's okay, Rose.  I'm here now.  It's okay."  She trembled against him and though it was strange to see her in such a state, it felt oddly good to hold her tightly like that.

                "Zojikoe," she whispered.  "Zoe, please, please get me out of here!  I'm going to go insane!  I can't stand it anymore!  Please!"

                "Oh Rose," he said.  "I'm so sorry for getting you into this!  I should have just told you the truth about the map in the first place!  If I had we wouldn't be stuck here, and you wouldn't be locked in a closet!"  He paused.  "Why are you locked in a closet?"

                "It doesn't matter," she said  "I don't care about the map anymore!  I don't care if you got me into this!  Just get me out!"

                "I will," he said, holding her tightly.  He put his chin on the top of her head and hoped that Ka had a really good plan.  "I promise."  The mage looked up as Mezzen hesitantly approached them.  He looked at the upset priestess.

                "Is . . . is she broken?"  He asked, his face full of concern.  Zojikoe smiled at him.

                "I think I can fix her," he answered.  He pulled Rose out of his embrace and held her at an arms length, looking her in the eye.  "But I can't do it right now.  Rose, I'm sorry, but I can't get you out just yet."  She cast a miserable glance back at the closet.  "I'm sorry Rose," Zoe said again.  "I'll be back for you, with help, I promise!  Ka's got something up her sleeve to get us all out of here."  He reached under his shirt and pulled the pendant out, pulling it off over his head.  He slipped it over Rose's and kissed her lightly on the forehead on impulse.

                "It's a mind shield," he explained.  "It will protect you from illithid control.  As long as you're wearing it."  She clutched the pendent tightly and nodded.

                "You'll come back?"  She asked.  Zojikoe nodded.

                "I promise," he said.  "Just be patient.  We'll be getting out of here soon all right.  But until then you've got to put up with your master for a little bit more."  Rose sighed and nodded in understanding.  She stepped away from him and back into the closet.  It nearly broke Zoe's heart having to shut and lock the door on her again.  Mezzen studied him worriedly.

                "Are you broken?"  He asked.  "You don't look so great."  Zoe smiled down at him.

                "I'll be fine," he said.  "Just a little shaken up is all.  Come on," he started back down the hall.  "Let's get back to our rooms.  It's all up to Ka now."

***

                " . . . and that's the whole story," Ka said, watching her master dubiously.  Rain gave her a blank look.

                _So, he said, __in other words your own mother couldn't stand you and sent you on a wild-goose chase through the Underdark in an attempt to lose you to its horrors, and you somehow managed to pick up your own rag-tag band of freaks to follow you on your hopeless quest for an item you're starting to doubt even the existence of.  Ka narrowed her eyes at him._

                "You're a real champ, you know that?"  She demanded.

                "Ha," Dil said weakly, "champ!"

                "Shut up, Dil," Ka snapped out loud at the same time as Rain snapped it mentally.  Dil'andau frowned at them both but took their advice (more because of the wave of pain sweeping from his ruined shoulder than from any tendency towards obedience).  Rain turned from them both and stared contemplatively at the wall.  Ka stood uncertainly for a moment, still gripping Dil's hand tightly, and watched him.

                "So . . ."  She said hesitantly, trying to gather her courage.  "What are you going to do?"

                _Do?  Rain asked neutrally, his tone giving away nothing of his intentions.  __What would you have me do_?_  Ka frowned at the question._

                "I . . ."  She said.

                "You could heal me," Dil said from between his gritted teeth.  "Don't tell me you can't.  I've seen what your freaky mind powers can – AGH!"  Ka drove her knuckles into his wound, causing Dil'andau to hiss nasty names at her but stop his tirade.  Despite his impotent rage, however, he still refused to let go of her hand.  Rain gave her a flat look.

                _Why, oh why, do you –_

                "For the last time, I _don't_," she snapped.  "Could we stay on subject please?"  Rain cast a pointed look at her hand, clutching Dil's as though she was afraid she might lose him again, and then rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.  He looked back at her after a moment.

                _Why should I help you?  He demanded pointedly.  Ka blinked, his question taking her off-guard.  She hadn't asked for help . . . but if this was some kind of offering . . . _

                "Well," she said slowly, trying desperately to think of some kind of answer, "because . . . "  She mentally shuffled through the possible answers she could give him, uncomfortably aware of the fact that Rain was fully aware of every possible answer she came up with.  There was nothing she thought, that he didn't know about.

                _Can you think of nothing?  He asked with the tone of a teacher trying to lead his student to the answer without giving it away.  He returned his gaze to the wall.  _Ka, I'm disappointed in you._  Ka frowned, that thought bothering her more than she'd thought it would._

                "I . . . "  Her voice died off when she caught herself following Rain's gaze to the bookshelf crammed against the wall, jam-packed to bursting with papers and books and other things.  She blinked in surprise.

                _Knowledge, she thought to herself.  _There really _is_ nothing I know that he doesn't.  Maybe if I offered . . .__

                _Now, Rain said, wiggling his fingers, pleased at what he'd heard through his mental eavesdropping, __you're using your brain the way it should be used.  He offered her a wry smile.  _And soon so will I.  This is the deal, Ka.  I will buy your other two friends.  I will heal this one.  I will set the four of you free in the Underdark to seek this Kyrashar Rose or whatever else you feel like seeking.  The catch, is that no matter where you go, you take me with you.  _He reached out a long finger and touched it to the center of her forehead, pressing her circlet into her head.  __In here.  You will share every piece of knowledge you gain with me.  Everything you know, I will know.  Am I clear?  Are you agreed?_

                Ka hesitated.  She wasn't entirely sure she liked the idea of having an extra tenant in her head – the last thing she wanted was Zoe making more jokes about her being crazy – but on the other hand if she refused then she would live out the rest of her life as a slave.  And so would the rest of them.  Zoe and Rose would go on with whatever they were doing, provided they weren't eaten by their masters, Dil would be sent back to the arena, most likely to his death, and she would never, _ever, get to see the look on her matron's face when she returned from her hopeless, impossible quest successfully and finally made her understand the value of having a psion in the house . . . _

                She squeezed Dil's hand for added encouragement and looked up at Rain.

                "Done," she said, unable to keep from wincing as she sold her mental privacy for her physical freedom.

***

                Rose gasped as the door to her closet was suddenly ripped open and she toppled out, smacking her forehead on the hard floor.  She swore loudly and gripped her forehead as someone tangled their hands in her robe and lifted her to her feet.  She opened her eyes and jumped when she met her master's irritated gaze.

                _Wake up, he snapped.  _Look lively.  I've found someone who's interested in buying you.  Do _not__ screw this up, Rose, do you understand me?  You're choice is between this new master or my stomach.  Rose nodded mutely, nonplussed by the threat.  She was pretty sure a new master would be no different than her current one, and, truth be told, death was starting to look good.  _Follow me_._

                She fell into step behind him and followed mutely in his footsteps, clinging tightly to the pendant around her neck, forcing herself to focus on the dull pain inflicted by the sharp edges digging into her hand.  _Zoe will save me_, she thought to herself.  _Zoe will save me.  I just have to wait.  He's got a plan.  He must have a plan.  He won't let me down.  Not again . . . _

                She frowned just slightly at her own thoughts.  What had happened to her?  She used to be strong.  A credit to her race and her gender.  What kind of drowess depended on a lowly male?  Especially one who couldn't even keep a map.  She sneered and raised her head as though to chew someone out but as she did so the fact that she was still in the Illithid Caverns, and surrounded by the ugly, tentacled, closet-abusing mind flayers, registered painfully once more in her brain and it was all she could do to keep from crumpling.

                _Please . . . Zoe . . . please . . . _

                She came to a sudden stop when her master's hand shot out in front of her.

                _Wait here, it snapped, then moved off to where another Illithid waited impatiently, it's own two drow slaves behind it.  She blinked when the male of the pair waved stupidly at her.  Her heart skipped a beat._

                _I'd know that idiot grin anywhere, she thought, her eyes going wide.  "Dil'andau!"  She gasped quietly.  The drowess at his side grabbed the hand he was waving in irritation and jerked it down violently, causing the drow to stumble just slightly and glare at her.  "Ka . . ."_

                "Told you I'd get you out of that closet," said a soft voice from behind her.  She gasped and whirled around.

                "Zoe . . ."  She breathed.  "You . . ."  She took a step towards him, unsure of what she intended to do once she got to him, only knowing she wanted to get there, but paused at a movement out of the corner of her eye.  She blinked at looked down at the little boy peering shyly at her from behind Zoe, half hiding in his robes, his eyes wide with nervous excitement and uncertainty.  Zoe reached back and pulled him out from behind him, nudged him forward towards Rose.

                "Say it," he whispered to the boy.  "Like I told you."

                "V-Vendui, malla jabbress Rose," Mezzen said quietly, giving a quick, jerky bow.

                "Give the thing to her," Zoe counseled under his breath.  Mezzen blinked.  

                "Oh!"  He gasped, reaching into his pouch and pulling out Rose's spider tiara, holding it out to her.  He offered her a bright smile despite his nervousness.  Rose stared at him curiously, blinking in surprise at his words and the tiara he offered her.

                "Vendui, little one," she said, accepting the tiara.  "And thank you."  Mezzen's grin brightened even more.  Rose looked back up at Zoe.  "He's so polite!"  She gasped.  "Where did you find him?"  Zoe shrugged.

                "He found me," he said, ruffling Mezzen's hair affectionately.  "If it weren't for Mezzen here none of us would be getting out of here.  He's the one who found Ka in the first place and brought me the pendant."  Rose's eyes widened at his words.

                "Getting out?"  She whispered, unable to let herself believe she'd heard him correctly.  "We're getting out?"

                _Rose, snapped her master.  She whirled around, feeling herself go pale.  The illithid approached her quickly.  __The deal is done, he snapped at her.  _You are no longer my concern.  This is now your master._  He glared at her furiously.  _You had best serve him better than you served me.  If any complaints are made because of you . . ._  He left the threat hanging, then turned to the other illithid, addressing him once more before taking his leave.  The new illithid stared critically at Rose, looking her up and down._

                _You, he said, __were the cheapest one.  He even threw in a panther to seal the deal.  He gurgled in amusement.  __I have rarely seen him so frustrated.  Rag-tag band of freaks, indeed. _

                "I wish you'd quit using that term," Ka grumbled, coming up to them, Dil'andau in tow.  "We're not freaks."  Rain shifted his weight dubiously and looked behind her.

                "What?"  Ka demanded.  "It's Dil, isn't it?  He's doing something, isn't he?"

                "Am not," Dil'andau said, hastily removing his finger from his teeth.

                Rose could have cried with relief.

***

                Ka took a deep breath of air as they stepped out of the illithid city and back into the Underdark.

                "Freedom," she breathed.

                _Relatively, Rain chimed in mentally.  __Do not forget our deal, Ka.  Your knowledge is mine.  Seek to undermine our agreement in any way and I will kill you from here, understand me?___

"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving her hand impatiently.  "No cheating, I got it.  Now leave me be."  Rain gurgled a goodbye and his immediate presence left her mind.  She looked up and realized that the rest of her party was staring at her.  Zoe raised an eyebrow at her.

                "Hearing voices, Ka?"  He asked neutrally.  Ka gritted her teeth.

                _It starts . . . She grumbled._

                "You know," said Dil'andau, an odd sour note in his voice.  "I understand why we had to take Rose with us, and I understand why we had to take Ka with us, and I even understand why we had to take the dinky little pansy and the big ass cat with us, though I still say we could do without–"  Zoe and Slayer both glared at the fighter "–but could someone please explain to me why we went to all that effort to steal the kid?"  He directed a nasty look at Mezzen who was perched on Zojikoe's shoulders.  Mezzen returned the look just as nastily and added his tongue into the expression.

                "Because he's smarter than you," Zoe returned evilly.

                "And I'm cuter too," Mezzen added.  He looked Dil'andau up and down and pursed his lips and arched an eyebrow in an expression identical to one of Zoe's more frequent ones.  "Besides, you're dirty and you smell and I'm not and I don't, so I think the real question here should be why are we taking _you_."

                "Kid's got you there, champ," Zoe said with a bright grin.  Dil growled low in his throat and started forward, but Ka put out her hand and stopped him, shoving him in the other direction.

                "Let it go, Dil," she snapped.  "He's just a stupid kid, and Rose wouldn't let us leave him with the Illithids.  Just let it go."

                "He called me dirty!"  Dil fumed.

                "You are," Ka snapped.  "Now shut up."

                Behind them Mezzen reached up to his neck and pulled off Ka's mind shield pendant, holding it out to Rose.

                "I should be safe now," he said.  "I don't think my master will notice me missing for a while anyway.  You can have this.  I know you don't like illithids, and this will protect you . . ."  He hesitated.  "If you want it, I mean."  Rose stared at the pendant for a moment then took it from him and slipped it over her head, feeling immensely better for the protection it offered.  She reached up and pulled Mezzen off of Zoe's shoulders and into her arms instead, planting a kiss firmly on his forehead.

                "You," she said, "are my new favorite male."


	13. Episode 13

EPISODE 13 

"If you are wrong…"  The matron of Streeka'Xukuth hissed in warning, narrowing her pale eyes down at Kirisstind, who was prostrated before her archaic throne.

                "I'm not, I promise you!"  The drowess countered firmly, turning a fiery stare up at her adoptive matriarch, "And neither is Nieznevartvosk.  If you cannot trust the very eyes of your own counsel, than what _can_ you trust?"  At this, the matron's hand slammed down onto the armrest, a quick breath escaping her throat.

                "No one!"  She roared, and Kirisstind bared her teeth, "And _especially_ not you.  Not yet, anyway."  She added after a moment of reflection.  With a sneer so twisted it rivaled the loathsomeness of Kirisstind's disfigured visage, she bent forward in her seat and raised a slender finger. "You listen to me, _noamuth_.  Whatever act of insubordination you committed that got you that scar will not be reproduced in my house, is that clear?"  She warned, her voice low, "I am Queen here, Kirisstind, and I will not tolerate any outbursts or impudence on the part of any of my underlings.  And that, my dear new daughter, includes _you_.  Do I make myself clear?"  She raised an eyebrow, her nostrils flaring with each breath. Kirisstind stared long and hard at her new mother before inclining her head. 

                "Understood, matron."  She grumbled and let a few moments pass before pressing on with her intended plot. "As I was saying, then, matron…about my sister."  She kept her gaze to the floor but could still hear the matron shift irritably in her seat. "Nieznevartvosk has caught sight of her through his agents in the West.  Perhaps she is still with the illithids; there is still time—"  She urged, her voice rising once more.

                "Time for what?"  The matron barked. "Time for you to run out and chase her down?"  She made a crude noise and eyed the top of Kirisstind's head.  She frowned, annoyed at the young rogue's persistence, and annoyed at herself for acknowledging the problem with missing siblings and having to do something about it.  Why couldn't things be simple for her?  Why did there always have to be loose ends and missing chapters and recurring ghosts?  Just when she thought she had rid the house of one of its larger blemishes, along came a new one…

                "Yes…actually."  Kirisstind replied brightly, snapping the matron from her contemplations. "I could speak with Niez—"  She started, but was once again brutally cut off.

                "Can't you just request to have her killed from here?  I mean really…"  The matron argued. "You're wasting my time, now."  Kirisstind frowned.

                "I could…"

                "Then why don't you?"

                "Because well, you see…"

                "What?  What is it?"

                "When last I informed myself, Rose had been moved around—"

                "And?"

                "And well…she may not be there any longer.  She may be dead…or…_moved…_somewhere."

                "For the love of Lloth…"

                "I don't know how these things work, dammit!  But apparently there are other drow with her, and there's something in relation to them all that concerns an artifact – a rose of sorts.  I don't know." At this the matron was stunned.  She sat back  and stared at the wall a moment, obviously rifling through something in her mind.  Then, she returned her gaze to the expectant Kirisstind and breathed a single word. 

                "Dil'andau."  Kirisstind blinked idly. 

                "What about him?"  She droned.  What did any of this have to do with her new freak-of-a-brother? The matron sighed a great sigh and rolled her eyes, her hands moving to cradle her forehead. 

                "I sent my son out to find the Kyrashar Rose."  She explained at length. "I was hoping he'd just get lost and die out on his own, but apparently he found some friends – including your sister and some illithids."  She shook her head and dropped her hands to her lap. "What are the odds that they're all dead?  I mean, really…the illithids can't possibly have use for a couple dirty, emaciated, ill-wise drow, can they?"  She nodded to herself, trying to convince herself that her son and the problematic new sibling were indeed dead. "Maybe they're already dead and we're just worrying ourselves over nothing…"  Kirisstind made a face at the daydreaming matron.

                 "I don't know about your son, but I honestly don't think my sister is such a quick-fix."  She waited for some acknowledgement from the matron, got none, then continued flatly. "I want to make sure Rose is dead.  I can't sleep at night wondering when she'll come back and finish what she started."  The scar across her face seemed to sting right then. "I want to find her.  I will arrange to have her detained – whether by the illithids or by any other means necessary depending on circumstance – and then I will go to her and finish her off myself."  She grinned wickedly at her decision and looked to the matron, who had returned to the present and was staring at her thoughtfully. "And if your son is there when I find Rose, then I'll just have to hit two birds with one stone, now won't I?"

                 "Oh?"  The matron cooed, amused suddenly. "And just how do you plan on finding Rose if she's not with the illithids?"  She batted her lashes patronizingly.  Hell, if the woman wanted to go off into the wilds and chase down a potential threat _and_ a house nuisance, then why should she be stopped?  It's not like Kirisstind had been much help to House Streeka'Xukuth since her adoption, what with her interminable obsession with Rose…  Kirisstind shrugged. 

                "Do you have a map?"  She asked.  The matron grinned widely.

                 "No."  She answered and Kirisstind's face fell. "I gave the only one I had to Dil'andau when he left."  She chuckled, "But I'll see what I can do…"

***

                 "We are _so_ going in circles."  Dil'andau moaned, plopping down beside his bedroll; he pointed to a moldy rock nearby, "See?!  I remember that rock!  We've been here before."  He stared hard at the rock, eyes narrowed, and then turned an angry glare over at Zojikoe, who was fussing over a rock in his boot.  The mage glared back at him and opened his mouth to retort, but a small white head poked out from behind him and spoke first.

                "How can you tell _that_ rock from the one in your head?"  Mezzen quipped defensively and immediately disappeared back behind Zoe as soon as Dil made a move towards him.

                "Jam it, Dil!"  Ka cried, appearing above the warrior and promptly dropping her backside down onto him, pinning him to the ground, "Just leave him."  She frowned over at her brother and hoped he understood the look she was giving him.  Beneath her, Dil squirmed.

                 The group had spent the last day wandering almost aimlessly through the tunnels just beyond the illithid city in hopes of finding the trail to the elusive Ice Caves.  Unlike before, the tunnels intersected now, fanning out into a multitude of directions that could technically all be followed in order to reach a general northward location.  However, the tunnels were a great deal more confusing now then ever before, and even Zojikoe's photographic memory seemed to be failing them.  The young mage continued to lead the group, but was no longer chatty – his attention centered entirely on the maze of pathways he was digging himself deeper into.

                Rose sat down atop her own blankets and stifled a yawn. "I'm sure we can trust Zojikoe to take us to where we want to go."  She opted, opening her arms to Mezzen, who hurried over to her and settled down in her lap.

                "Yeah, 'cause _that_ got us far last time!"  Dil'andau cried out angrily, leaning to the side to look past Ka, who remained perched atop him.  He made a gesture at Zoe and made a face. "Stupid moron got us all enslaved!  What next, champ?  Rabid halflings?!"  He gritted his teeth.

                "What's a halfling?"  Came Mezzen's predictable inquiry.  The boy knew nothing.  _Nothing_.

                "Shut up."  Dil snapped at the boy instantly.  Ever since he saw the adorable little runt, he hated him – with a _passion_.   

                "Don't say that to him."  Rose scolded, hugging the boy closer to her.  She moved to get her panther as backup, but Ka signaled her and patted Dil's knee with a grin.

                "Never mind, I got him."  The psion assured her lightly.  Rose narrowed her eyes at Dil and called her cat to her nonetheless. 

                "I know where we're going."  Zojikoe said quietly, finally pulling his boot back on and settling down on his blankets.  He gave Dil an evil stare. "I just got confused with the forks in the tunnels is all.  We're on-track now and we'll be out of this mess by tomorrow night, I swear it."  He looked over at Rose, unable to further take Dil's unimpressed look without feeling the urge to throttle him.  The man had a gift for making him look bad.  There was a moment of silence, and then Dil's vice piped up again. 

                "That still doesn't explain this freaking _rock_!"  He went on, pointing vaguely in the direction the familiar rock had been in.  Ka sighed.

                "Who cares, Dil'andau?"  Zoe snapped, "It's a _rock_.  You probably saw fifty of them in the last ten minutes and you just _think_ you've seen this one before because you feel like pissing me off right now!"  He pried his eyes from the lovely image of Rose and Mezzen and looked over at his sister and her pet sword-biscuit.  Dil'andau frowned, drew in a breath, and violently shoved Ka off of him. 

                "What's the matter, _champ_?  Feeling the stress?"  He teased with a mocking pout, "Little pansy trying to look good in front of his little maggot?"

                "What's a—"  Mezzen started, but Rose instantly quieted him by cupping her hand over his mouth.  With a quick gesture, she motioned for her pet panther to go towards Dil'andau.  Dil shot the kid an evil glare and looked to Zoe. 

                "You really have no idea where we're going!"  He accused, his voice rising.  Beside him, Ka was on all fours.

                "You're being loud!  Shut up!"  The psion growled angrily.  

                "_You_ shut up!"  Dil whined back at her and moved towards Zojikoe. "Why didn't you just say that you have no clue where we're going and that we're all gonna end up—"  He went on, eyeing the panther that was quickly closing in on him.  Zoe shuffled backwards at once. 

                "Like you know any more than I do!"  He cried childishly, tripping in his bedroll and falling onto his backside.  The second he fell back, Dil was upon him.

                "Damn right I do!"  The warrior argued, ineffectively trying to get his hands around the writhing mage's neck.

                "Do not!"

                "Do so!"

                "Do not!"

                "Do so!"

                Rose's panther sprung into action then, knocking Dil off of Zojikoe and perching itself atop him as Ka had earlier.  Zoe took a few breaths and brushed himself off, hauling himself back up to a sitting position.

                "Ha!  Told you!"  He cried triumphantly over at his half-buried nemesis.  He flashed Rose a smile but she didn't return it.  In fact, she looked terribly unimpressed; in her arms, Mezzen was staring at the Dil-and-Slayer pile.  Zoe's grin disappeared, "As _if_ you'd know more about the way to go than I do…HA!  That's _bullshit_"  He cried.  There came a rustling sound, and a groan, and then Dil'andau's muffled voice cracked the silence.

                "Oh yeah?!  So where'd I get the map, then?!"  He cried just as triumphantly as Zoe had earlier. The whole crew looked over in the direction Mezzen was looking and there, from beneath the panther, clenched in Dil's upraised hand, was a piece of old parchment paper.  Silence fell.

                "You've got to be kidding me."  Ka said at last.  As if in reply to her, Mezzen climbed off of Rose and scrambled over to Slayer; he reached up and gingerly plucked the piece of paper from Dil's hand (which was immediately followed by a loud 'Hey!') and examined it.  

                "Yup.  It's a map."  The boy declared with finality.  He looked up at Zoe and grinned, holding up the map for him to see. "See?"  He pressed.  There came another silence as everyone examined the map with their own eyes.  It was indeed another map, much like the one they had lost weeks before.

                "Hey…"  Dil called from beneath Slayer, breaking the silence. "…someone wanna take the cat off?  Rose?  Anyone?"

                Rose's eyes flashed over in Dil's direction; she looked to the map, and back again.  In her mind, all she could see was the inside of the illithid closet she had been locked in.  She looked over at Zoe; the mage was staring at the map, his mouth open, his mind surely reeling in memory of all the guilt he felt over a situation that hadn't been his fault.  She looked back to the map, and then to Dil'andau.  

                And then something snapped. 

                "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  The priestess screeched, at the top of her lungs, as she tore off her bedroll and lunged at Dil, scaring her cat off in the process.  The scream startled everyone, causing them to draw back and away from her path, as she fell upon Dil'andau in a flurry of white hair and dark robes.  

                Ka watched the scene somewhat idly, and immediately made a bee-line for Mezzen as soon as the wild Rose had zoomed by.  She reached the boy, who had climbed onto Zoe for protection and was watching the scrape with wide eyes, and snatched the map from his tiny hand.  She inspected the map more closely, and frowned to find that on _this_ version of the map, the Caverns of Thought were marked properly; whereas on the map _her_ matron had given her, the same spot had been marked as being the Ice caves.  So in reality, Zojikoe _had_ indeed led them correctly – it was just the map that was erroneously marked.  

                Surprise, surprise…

                "Well shit."  Ka mused, staring at the map and shaking her head.  Beside her, Zojikoe made a 'hmph' noise.

                "I guess Irialishae really _did_ want to kill you after all."  He commented dryly, then added, "That must suck."  Ka looked over at him and gave him a dull look.  Zoe grinned. 

                "Goddess fuck _my eye_ Lloth!"  Dil's panicked scream rose up from the scuffle a few feet away.  Zoe and Ka looked up from the map and Mezzen gasped.

                "Watch your mouth!  The kid, the kid!"  Zojikoe scolded, but remained passive.  Beside him, Ka darted off towards the fight in a flash of red.

                "Hang on, Dil!"  She cried and threw herself on top of Rose, tackling her off Dil'andau and crashing off to the side a few feet away.  The crazed priestess turned on Ka then and began clawing at her as she had done to Dil.

                "Rose!  Wait!  Sweet mother of spiders!"  Zoe cried, getting into the action at long last, dropping Mezzen instantly and darting after the two tangled females.  He jumped over Dil, who was desperately trying to claw his way out of attack range, and threw himself at Rose and Ka.

                "Let go!"  He growled, yanking on Rose's hands, "Let go let go let go let go!"  He pried the priestess' fingers, one by one, out of Ka's hair and pulled her bodily away from her scrambling sister.  He pulled her backwards until he tripped over the rock the Dil'andau was _so_ certain he'd seen before and fell onto his backside for the second time in that evening.  Rose collapsed against him and he held her in a death grip until her breathing returned to normal.

                A few feet away, Ka crawled over to Dil, who was on his back and panting, Slayer pacing around him warily.  She leaned over the warrior's face and peered down at him.  He had a cut lip, a bloody nose and was bleeding from a few sets of perfect little half-moon-shaped cuts over his neck and face.  Ka frowned and held up the map before his eyes.

                "Why didn't you tell us you had this when you lost mine the first time?"  She asked suspiciously.  Dil swallowed thickly and looked to the side.

                "I forgot I had it."  He admitted quietly.  

                Ka watched his face for a moment, waiting for him to look at her again, but instead, he continued to stare off to the side.  When he narrowed his eyes at something, Ka followed his gaze.  Not twenty feet away, Mezzen was standing still as a board, staring at what appeared to be another of the large Underdark birds that Ka had seen earlier during her trip.  The huge creature was absurdly colorful and comical in its manner and appearance.  Though Ka had seen one before, Mezzen obviously had not.  And the boy was hyperventilating.

                Dil chuckled. "Stupid kid."  He made a face. "It's a _bird_ for Lloth's sake."

                Ka stared at the boy a moment, unsure of what to do.  She looked over her shoulder at Zoe and Rose and was happy to see that Rose hadn't attacked her brother as she had attacked her.  Feeling quite useless and rather stupid, she cleared her throat and called out to her companions.

                "Um…Zoe?"  She tried and thumbed back at the Mezzen. "Your kid is freaking out."  She added a lopsided grin to the declaration and hoped for the best.

                Zoe whipped around, along with a suddenly very-sober Rose, to look at Mezzen. "Crap!"  He cried and jumped to his feet, pulling Rose with him.  He hurried towards the boy with Rose in tow and shooed the large bird away when he got within range.

                "Relax, Mezzen."  Rose soothed as Zoe knelt down before the boy and forced him to make eye-contact with him. "It's okay…it's just a bird.  It's okay."  She held the boy firmly in place and Zoe coached Mezzen to mimic his breathing.

                Opposite them, Dil pushed himself to a sitting position, his eyes still on Mezzen and the little scene unfolding itself before him. "Wow."  He mused more to himself then to Ka, "If he's going to do that every time he sees something new, I'm going to stab myself with a fork.  Multiple times."  Beside him, Ka chuckled.

                "You do that."  She said quaintly.  Dil flopped back down.


	14. Episode 14

EPISODE 14 

****

****

                "It floors me," Zojikoe said sourly, glaring at Dil'andau out of the corner of his eye.  "I can't believe you _forgot you had a map  After everything we went through . . . the panic, trying to hide it from the girls, getting captured by the Illithids . . ."  __Disappointing Rose, he added silently to himself.  "And you had a __map the whole damn time!  You floor me, freak.  Sometimes you really floor me."  Dil glowered at him and shoved him violently, sending the mage stumbling to the side, tripping over his robes and landing flat on his face on the rocky ground.  He whipped himself around and glared up at the fighter who grinned nastily down at him._

                "Did I floor you?"  He asked, then gave a short laugh and moved on, leaving Zoe to pick himself up on his own.  He turned around and glared at Ka and she and Rose approached.

                "I think it's _your_ turn to deal with big-and-stupid," he said flatly.

                "I think it's _your_ turn to shut the hell up, Zojikoe," Ka replied just as flatly.  "What makes you think you can just jam me with –"

                "KA!"  Shouted Dil from somewhere up ahead.  "Get your scrawny ass up here!  I don't feel like looking at your pansy-ass brother anymore."  Rose raised a neutral eyebrow at the psion.

                "It's amazing how little respect males give you, Ka," she said mildly, picking a piece of lint off of her sleeve.  "It's as though you were no better than one of them . . ."  Ka glared at her and then turned the glare on Dil, who was trekking back, looking irritated that their progress had stopped.

                "What's the hold up?"  He demanded.  A mean grin lit up his face.  "Kid freak out again?"  Rose and Zoe simultaneously leveled dark frowns at their companion.  So far Mezzen had managed to hyperventilate (whether out of excitement or fear was impossible to tell) three more times that morning (once at a bat that had swooped down at them, once at a spider that had fallen down Dil's back from the ceiling (though he may just have been laughing so hard at the dance the fighter had done to get rid of it that he stopped breathing), and once a patch of moss on the wall (none of them were quite sure why that mattered, but for Mezzen, it had).  Dil's eyes had gotten progressively narrower each time).  Zoe gestured impatiently to Slayer's back – upon which the small child was draped, his arms and legs dangling from either side as he slept.  Slayer put up with this resignedly if nothing else.

                "The kid's asleep, Dil'andau," he said flatly.  "And if you don't mind I'd like to keep it that way, so why don't you do us all a favor and shut face?"

                "How's about I shut _your_ face?"  Dil'andau demanded, frowning at the mage, then he grinned evilly and looked at Mezzen.  "Maybe he's dead," he said brightly.  Rose's eyes narrowed and she took a step towards him.  Ka (who was fully aware of the fact that Rose had not (and she seriously doubted if she would ever) forgiven Dil for the map incident and was just _looking_ for an excuse to gouge out more of his flesh) stepped forward and grabbed a handful of Dil's hair, dragging him after her.

                "Let's go, Dil," she said flatly.  He stumbled after her, whining at her grip on his hair.

                "Lemme go!"  He cried as they moved ahead of the others.  Ka finally released his hair and shoved him roughly.

                "_What is your problem, Dil?"  She demanded, then turned and continued to walk without waiting for his answer._

                "What problem?"  He demanded, hurrying to catch up to her.  "_You're the one with the problem."  Ka ignored him._

                "Why are you so flippy about the kid?" She demanded.  "He's just a stupid kid, Dil.  Why?  Why?"  Dil'andau frowned at her and crossed his arms sulkily.

                "He's got an attitude problem," the big drow said petulantly, his tone suggesting a pout he was fighting with everything he had.  Ka regarded him flatly.

                "So do you."

                "He's irritating, and annoying, and . . . and . . . and stupid."

                "So are you."

                "I . . . hey!"  Now he did pout (the expression almost comical with all the half-moon shaped scabs on his face from Rose's unexpected beating the day before) and flatly refused to look at her, hunching his shoulders and glaring straight ahead.

                "You still haven't given me an answer, Dil," Ka said, unimpressed with his display.  "What's your problem with this kid?"

                "What about the kid's problem with me?"  Dil demanded, forgetting he didn't want to look at her.  "He's a little jerk-ass just like your brother.  With the smart-mouth, and the hoity-toity attitude, and the . . . the . . . he's ugly."  Ka raised an eyebrow at this and turned her gaze ahead and away from him.

                "Dil, you're being stupid," she said.  "Besides, he's not ugly.  Half the reason he gets away with his attitude is because he's severely cute, and –"

                "Yeah?!"  Dil'andau shouted suddenly.  "Well if you like him so much, why don't you marry him?!"  He hit her in the shoulder and sent her stumbling back until her back hit the tunnel's wall.  She gaped at him for a moment as her brain processed what he had just done.

                _Rose is right, Rain chimed in mentally with the kind of wry amusement he seemed to reserve for her and her alone, (the illithid had an irritating habit of never speaking to her unless it was to gibe her about something, usually involving Dil).  _The males of your kind really don't respect you, do they?____

_                Stay out of this, Rain,_ she snapped.  He ignored her.

                _You two were so friendly with each other back here too . . . holding hands and everything._

                _Shut face!  She cried mentally, and then propelled herself off the wall and at Dil'andau. _

*** 

                "Mezzen?"  Zojikoe asked, staring down at the young drow who had pushed himself into a sitting position on Slayer and was staring around with the wide, bleary-eyed look of fear that one usually adopts upon waking up from a particularly bad nightmare.  "Mezzen?"  He asked again.  "Are you all right?  Mezzen?"  Rose paused in her walking and turned around, looking at them questioningly.

                The little boy sucked in two rapid-fire breaths, and for a half a second Zoe was afraid he was going to start hyperventilating over something again, but this was different.

                "Where are we?"  Mezzen asked in a tiny voice, his hands tightening convulsively on Slayer's fur.  "Where . . . where did they go?"  Zoe blinked at his questions.

                "Who?"  He asked.  "Ka and Dil'andau?  They're up ahead somewhere.  And we're . . ."  He pulled the map (confiscated violently from Dil'andau despite his arguments) out of his pouch and gave it a quick glance, "actually we're finally out of illithid territory.  Would have been sooner if it weren't for that stupid son of a bitch, Di–"  He cut himself off abruptly and looked at Mezzen, afraid that he'd added yet another word to the kid's growing list of swearwords, but Mezzen hadn't heard him.  The boy was crying, tears streaming down his face and his shoulders trembling with sobs.  He held his hands up to Rose and opened and closed his fingers in a pleading gesture.  Rose blinked and complied, leaning down and picking him up off of Slayer.  Mezzen immediately wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

                "Mezzen?"  Rose asked softly.  "What's wrong?  Did you have a nightmare?  Come on, stop crying.  You're a drow, be strong.  It was just a nightmare."  Something told her it wasn't a nightmare however.  She exchanged a perplexed glance with Zojikoe.

                "Mezzen?"  Zoe asked.  "What's wrong?"  The little boy tightened his grip on Rose and tried his best to quell his sobs.

                "They're gone," he whimpered.  "I-It's so quiet . . . they're not there anymore . . ."

                _Who?  Zoe mouthed at Rose.  It couldn't have been Ka and Dil.  Rose shrugged in answer._

                "Let's just keep going," she said, stroking Mezzen's hair as he trembled against her shoulder.  "We've left Ka and Dil alone too long anyway.  They're probably too far ahead and there's no telling what they'll get into on their own."  Zoe pulled his confused gaze away from Mezzen and nodded.  They started off again, the only sounds accompanying their walk Mezzen's muffled sobs, and Rose's soft singing.  The singing stopped abruptly when they rounded a corner and stopped dead in their tracks, staring dumbfounded at the sight before them.

                Ka was prostrated on the ground, Dil on top of her, one of her hands clawing frantically at Dil's shoulder, the other being held down by Dil'andau's free hand.  His other hand was confined in Ka's mouth, caught firmly between her teeth, and between his furious swearing he was trying to keep her legs on the ground with his.

                "Ka!  Get off my sister you son of a –"  Zoe managed to stop the swear just before it came out this time – for the little bit of good it did considering the worse ones coming out of Dil'andau's mouth.

                "Slayer," Rose snapped, pointing.  The panther leapt forward with a growl, knocking Dil'andau off of Ka and ripping his hand out of her mouth.

                "I HATE THIS CAT!"  Dil'andau cried frustratedly.  He narrowed his eyes at Ka as she picked herself up off of the floor.  "And I hate you!"

                "Yeah?!  Well why don't you marry me then?!  Lloth!"  She snarled, stumbling over to him and kicking him in the side underneath Slayer.  The blow put her off balance and she fell over onto her ass, the fell the rest of the way down and panted.  She looked up and saw Mezzen's tear-stained face staring at her with wide eyes and she scowled.  "What?!"  She demanded harshly.  His face crumpled and he buried it in Rose's shoulder again, crying harder.  Ka blinked in surprise at the unexpected reaction.

                "Way to go, Ka," Zoe said, glaring at his panting sister.  "Way.  To.  Go."

                "Shut up, Zoe," she snapped, curling up into a ball and ignoring them all. 

*** 

                Ka frowned to herself as she was interrupted in her messing with Dil's dreams yet again by another muffled sniffle.  She closed her eyes for a moment and waited for it to get quiet again before reaching out for Dil's mind with her own.

                Yet again she was interrupted.

                She turned around and glared toward Rose's blankets – more specifically at the small boy encircled by her arms.  Mezzen had his own arms raised, pressing his hands against the side of his head and he had his eyes squeezed tightly shut.  Every now and then a tear would trickle out between his eyelids and he still shook with the occasional hiccupped sob.  He had cried himself to sleep shortly before Rose, Zoe and Dil had all fallen asleep as well (Dil complaining the whole time about how the kid was keeping him up and he'd like to point out that he's the only fighter and if he's not well rested then he wouldn't be able to protect the group as well as he should and they could all die and maybe they should just tie the kid up and leave him there), but had woken up again maybe a half-hour ago and started the failing attempts to keep himself from crying that he was still continuing now.

                "Hey," she snapped, frowning at him, "what's wrong with you?"  Mezzen's eyes snapped open and he suddenly shrank away from her glare, pressing himself further back against Rose who stirred lightly at the movement, but he didn't answer.  Ka's frown darkened.  "I asked you a question, kid," she snapped.  "Answer it."  Mezzen sniffled.

                "It's quiet," he whispered.  "I don't . . . I can't . . ."  He took several quick breaths to keep himself from breaking down again.  Ka frowned and cocked her head.

                "Quiet?"  She demanded.  "It's not that quiet, kid."  Behind her Dil'andau snored loudly as though to prove her point.  "It could be a lot quieter if you'd stop crying."  Mezzen sniffled again.

                "Sorry," he whispered.  "I'm trying . . ."

                "Not hard enough," Ka grunted.  Mezzen actually managed to glare at her before closing his eyes again and trying to keep himself from panicking.  Ka continued to stare at him, then her eyes narrowed.  Fine.  Kid wanted to be stubborn, she'd get her own answers.  She reached out and grasped his mind with her own, momentarily shocked at the loneliness and strangled fear she found there.  Mezzen's eyes flew open again and he stared at her with wide eyes, somehow realizing what she was doing.  The fear and loneliness were overwhelmed for a moment by surprise and she began to withdraw her mind, but Mezzen's eyes widened even more.

                "No!"  He gasped, wriggling out of Rose's grip and getting to his feet.  "Please . . . you're like them . . . please!"  Tears continued running down his cheeks as he climbed over Zojikoe and almost fell when he got to her.  He all but threw himself in her lap, clutching at her.  She blinked and scuttled backwards, taken aback.  "Go back!  Come back!  Please!  Stay in there . . . please . . . please Ka . . ."

                "In where?"  She demand.  "In your head?  What's wrong with you?!"  She cast a glance over at her brother and Rose, debating waking them up and letting _them_ deal with the psychotic little thing in her lap.  Mezzen nodded miserably and his problem suddenly hit Ka.  She blinked at the obviousness of it.  

                The kid had probably never been alone in his own mind before.  Living with the Illithids he would have always had some kind of mental connection to someone.  She cast a glance back towards the Illithids' city.  When they'd left 'illithid territory', as Zoe had dubbed it, any connection the kid would have had to his previous home would have faded completely.  She looked back down at the shaking Mezzen.

                No wonder the kid was scared.  She'd probably cry too in the same situation.

                "Please . . ."  Mezzen begged her.   "I know you don't like me, but please . . . I'll be good, I promise!  I'll do what you say, I promise!  Please . . . go back . . ."  He looked up at her with a tear-stained face.  She raised an eyebrow at him.

                "Will it make you shut up?"  She demanded.  His eyes widened with a glimmer of hope and he nodded frantically, clutching her tighter.  "Fine," she said.  "Just for tonight."  _Now let go of me,_ she added to him mentally.  He let her go and wiped his face gratefully, turning away and climbing back over Zoe (who grunted but didn't wake when he stepped on his stomach) and squirmed his way back into Rose's arms.  The priestess's arms tightened instinctively on the boy, who took one last shuddering breath and closed his eyes, nodding off almost immediately.  Ka breathed a sigh of relief and turned back around to continue messing with Dil's head, but when she did so she found the fighter sitting up and glaring flatly at her.

                "So," he said, just as flatly, "why _don't_ you marry him?" 

*** 

                The group rose the next morning with a much happier Mezzen, and a much crankier Dil'andau.  After breakfast they got to their feet, packed up their camp, and started to move again.

                "All right, Mezzen," Rose said as they walked, glancing over at the boy who was once again perched on Zoe's back.  "It's time for you to start your lessons."  He blinked up at her.

                "What lessons?"  He asked.

                "Drow lessons," she answered.  "You are a drow, regardless of where you were born and who raised you, and it's time you learned how to act like one."  Mezzen frowned dubiously and let his gaze wander over to Dil'andau uncertainly, debating whether or not he really wanted to act like a drow.

                "The first step is to do the exact opposite of whatever Dil'andau does," Zoe added quickly after seeing where Mezzen was looking.  "You'll meet a lot of freaks in this world, son, and Dil's only one of them."

                "The first thing I'll do," Rose said, "is fill you in on our rules.  It's _very _important that you follow them.  The rules are strict and punishment for them is very severe."  Mezzen (who had been punished once in his life only to be let off because his owner was too lazy to enforce it) blinked.

                "Why?"  He asked.

                "Because they're the rules, and you can't break them," Rose answered.  "It's as simple as that.  After you learn some of the rules, Zoe can teach you to levitate."

                "What's levitate?"  Mezzen asked.

                "It's where you float yourself up into the air.  Kind of like flying," Rose answered.  "Show him, Dil'andau."  Dil'andau balked.

                "Why should I show the kid anything?!"  He demanded quickly, his eyes darting back and forth between Zoe and Rose.  "Why doesn't the pansy show him?"

                "What's a pansy?"  Mezzen asked.

                "Nothing," Zoe said quickly.  "Ignore him.  I'll show you levitating later."  He offered the boy a weak smile.  "I'm pretty sure you'll get over excited if I show you now."

                "Maybe he'll actually pass out this time and hit his head," Dil'andau muttered bitterly.  Ka frowned at him.

                "The first rule," Rose said, cutting off the distraction, "is that females are better than males.  You are a male.  Zojikoe and Dil'andau are males.  Ka and I are females."  She looked at Mezzen suddenly uncertain.  "You _do know the difference between male and female, right?"  Mezzen offered her a smile just as uncertain as hers._

                "Yes?"  He ventured.

                "Okay," Rose said, shaking her head.  "We'll deal with that one later.  What matters is that you are a male and Ka and I are female."

                "Which means you're better than me?"  Mezzen asked.

                "Yes," Rose answered.

                "Why?"  He asked.

                "Because we are," Rose answered.  "Females are smarter, more powerful, and favored above males in Lloth's sight."

                "Why?"  Mezzen asked again, trying to follow her.  Dil'andau frowned at him.

                "Because that's the way it works," Rose answered.  "Just accept it Mezzen.  Now, if a female tells you to do something, you do it.  You just do."

                "Why?"  Mezzen asked.  Dil'andau's frown darkened.

                "Because that's the way it works," Rose answered.  "You always do what a female tells you to do unless it goes against something _I_ told you to do.  Then you listen to me.  If a male tells you to do something, then whether or not you have to listen depends on the rank of the man."

                "Why?"  Mezzen asked.  Dil'andau's frown became a scowl.

                "Because not all men are going to be above you," Rose answered.  "If Zoe tells you to do something, you do it.  If Dil tells you to do something, you don't."

                "Why?"  Mezzen asked again.  Dil'andau's eyes narrowed and he tried to tone them out.

                "Because Dil's a stupid moron who's more than likely to tell you to do things that will get you, or everyone else killed," Zoe answered for Rose.

                "The God we worship is Lloth," Rose continued without missing a beat.  "She's going to be your goddess too, Mezzen, so learn to love her."

                "Why?"  Mezzen asked.  Dil'andau failed to tone them out.

                "Because she's cool," Rose replied.  "That's why.  Stop asking me questions and just listen.  Lloth is the spider goddess.  You can't kill spiders, Mezzen.  Never, _ever kill a spider."_

                "Why?"  Mezzen asked, unable to help himself.

                "ARGH!"  Dil'andau shouted suddenly, causing everyone to jump.  He stopped in his tracks and pointed at Mezzen.  "Say why again!  I _dare you, you stupid, _stupid _kid!  Say why again!!"  Mezzen looked up and blinked at him._

                "Why?"  He asked innocently.  Dil'andau jumped forward before anyone could stop him and wrapped his hand in the back of the kid's shirt, ripping him off of Zojikoe's back and throwing him roughly onto the ground.

                "I'll teach you to –"  He lunged down at the now terrified little kid – ignoring the rest of the party's screams – intent on finally taking out his anger on him, when something was thrust between his legs and tripped him, sending him flying over Mezzen and onto the ground behind him.  Zoe ran forward and snatched the wide-eyed and shaking Mezzen up and Dil'andau got to his feet and glared at Rose who had snatched his halberd from Ka.  That was what she'd jammed between his legs.  She threw the weapon at the ground furiously and clenched her fists.

                "If you _ever_ do that again,"  She cried, her voice high pitched.  "I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life as a _drider!_"  She glared at him then turned around to tend to Mezzen, who's eyes were no longer wide, but narrowed dangerously at Dil'andau, who had retrieved his halberd and was meticulously checking it for damage.  Rose pulled his hands away from each other and looked at his scraped palms and elbows and immediately set to work healing them.

                Mezzen was too busy glaring at Dil'andau to even hyperventilate.


	15. Episode 15

EPISODE 15

                "You're holding it upside down."  Ka commented lightly, sitting down beside Rose.  She grinned at the scathing look the priestess shot her and pointedly reached over to turn the map right side up.  Rose rolled her eyes.

                "I was zoned out…didn't notice."  She explained dully, though her eyes darted about in search of possible witnesses.  The group had stopped for a short break alongside an extensive canal they had been following for the last two days.  A few feet off from where Rose and Ka were, Zoe sat placidly with his legs crossed and his eyes closed; he appeared to be meditating.  By the waterside, Mezzen roamed around like a lost crab looking for its shell; Slayer paced along with him, wary of the distance the boy kept between himself and the shoreline.  Finally, a good twenty feet away from the group, Dil'andau sat tending to his weaponry.

                The two females inspected the map together for a moment.  With the proper guidance, the group had successfully found its way out of the confusing intersecting tunnels and had branched out into larger, singular traffic caves.  The illithid city was now further behind then ever; nevertheless, Ka was still unable to look at the illithid city markings on Dil's map without shaking her head and wondering how many other members of her House had at one point been given false maps.  According to Dil's map (which may or may not be accurate, Ka decided, considering the male's reputation), the Ice Caves weren't particularly close to their current position – which was disheartening in one way and heartening in another.  They were still a long ways away from their target, but the way there was fortunately a straightforward one.

                Rose's finger tapped a spot on the map between the tangled mess of tunnels just beyond the Caverns of Thought and what appeared to be a large, dark spot.  "So…we're about here, yes?"  She asked, turning her head this way and that to gauge her accuracy.  

                "Yeah, sure."  Ka agreed, figuring that it looked about right.  At this point, had Rose pointed at the marked Ice Caves and asked if that was where they were, Ka would have agreed.  Rose nodded slowly and frowned, sliding her finger over towards the dark spot to the side.

                "So…what's this?"  She grumbled, running her finger over the stain, which spread out over their path a couple inches.  Beneath the brownish blotch, which was thicker in some places, she could almost make out a few words scrawled by hand.  Ka shrugged.  

                "Twenty five gold says it's food."  She answered idly, casting a furtive glance over at Dil, who was furiously wiping something off the blade of his halberd with the sleeve of his shirt.  She blinked.  "Yeah, it's probably food.  I'm guessing it's whatever's always stuck in his teeth…"  She trailed off and Rose cut in with a heavy sigh.

                "No,"  The priestess growled, "not the stain.  The writing beneath it."  She tried scratching at the stain with her fingernail.  "Can you see it at all?"  She asked.  Ka bent down to approximately two inches from the map and squinted. 

                "Nope."  She said and squinted harder.  "Wait…unless…I'm seeing… 'illithid'…here…"  She drew back as Rose tore the map out from under her nose.

                "That was insensitive."  Rose snapped, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips.  She rolled up the map and stared towards the canal, where Mezzen was wandering about.

                "Yes, it was."  Ka agreed, nodding and following her gaze.  "But it was funny."

                "I'm not laughing."  Rose quipped.  

                "Funny for _me_."  Ka explained and grinned.  Before her, Mezzen seemed to have found something of interest amidst the small rocks by the shore.  He was crouched down and bent over it, his large feline guardian anxiously flicking its tail at his side, and he was slowly reaching out to touch it with a finger.

                "What's he looking at?"  Rose asked immediately, alert and suspicious now.  She was setting the rolled up map down beside her and getting ready to get to her feet.  Beside her, Ka reached out with her mind and took a peek through Mezzen's eyes. 

                "Well whatever it is, at least it's not mind-blowing enough to get him worked up over it–"  She paused as she examined the creature through the boy's eyes, "–it's a little crab-thing."  She declared off-handedly, releasing her hold on the boy.  By the water, Mezzen's head whipped to the side as the mental intrusion ceased; he frowned at Ka.

                "Crab thing?"  Rose echoed.  Not two seconds later, the boy let out a piercing shriek that startled the entire group and sent the boy running towards Rose.  From the far corner, Dil's voice rang out, sharp and vile. 

                "I _told_ you!"  He cried triumphantly.

                Mezzen brought his crocodile tears over to Rose and held up his index finger.  "It bit me!"  he wailed, showing off the bit of bloody flesh on the tip of his finger.  He looked over at Ka.  "I-I w-was looking a-at it…a-a-and I wanted t-to touch it…a-and it…"  He took a series of quick, hiccupped breaths, his small features contorting.  "…and it…a-and I…and s-she went–"  He motioned to his head with his other hand.  "–I-in there and then…a-and then I looked…a-and it bit me!"  He returned his attention to Rose, mouth open and lower lip trembling.  Ka raised an eyebrow. 

                "So this is all _my_ fault?"  She asked and Rose shot her a dull look, "I see.  I'll guess I'll just take it, then."  She decided placidly and leaned back on her hands as Rose raised her own hands to heal the boy.  "I'll just bend _right_ over and take it."  She smiled stupidly at the canal up ahead.  On the rocks, she could see the little crab thing scurrying about.

                _Stop that, you look like _him.  Rain's watery voice chimed in her mind; it was quickly becoming worse than a guilty conscience.

                _You can _see_ me too_?  Ka retorted, sighing internally.  _Uncool, Rain.  Supremely uncool.  _Rain made a hacking sound.  

                _Your words baffle, but I am certain some insult has taken place.  An insult that probably isn't even worth countering.  So I'll spare you the embarrassment and give you the bit of news I have for you._  The illithid paused.  Annoyed at the surely intended wait, Ka made a face.  

                _And?_  

                _The boy's master wants his pet back._  Rain seemed at once amused and sly.  Ka looked over at Rose, who had just finished with the boy and was getting up to go join Zoe with him.  

                _Dang.  He noticed him missing then?_  

                _Quit stalling_.  Rain snapped.  _That's inherent in the news I bring you and you know it.  So…what are you going to do about it?  _Ka moistened her lips and watched as a now completely-healed and over-animated Mezzen jumped onto her brother and assaulted him with a barrage of what sounded like crab questions.  

                _Well the kid's not going back – that's just too damn bad.  Rose'd rip my face off and Zoe would likely lose what bit of manhood he's acquired in the past week or so.  I couldn't care less if the kid took off, to be honest with you, and Dil would go into euphoria.  _Rain sounded excited now.  

                _Ooh!  Well isn't _this_ a pickle!  Ilsensine knows I wouldn't want to make you or your overgrown troll happy, but your brother seemed like a nice fellow and the cheap potion woman wasn't a bad specimen.  So I suppose we'll have to find a way to compensate my comrade for his loss, hmm?  _If Rain would have been standing before her then, Ka would have hit him.  

                _You're the biggest champ in the whole goddess damned world, you know that, Rain?  The King.  But I agree with you nonetheless._

_                Naturally,_ Rain purred good-naturedly.  Ka took a breath and thought it out a moment, watching her brother and Rose chat with their adoptive son.  

                _Tell you what, Rain my man.  How would your buddy like Rose and Zoe's first born kid?  _Rain didn't answer at once, and Ka took this as an invitation to sweeten the deal.  _Come on, champ…he'll be cute!  You know it.  He'll be – or she'll be – kinda smart like Zojikoe and alright-looking like Rose.  Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?  I'm sure the kid would make a _great_ foot stool or maid or meal or whatever your friend needs him for.  _Rain chuckled.  

                I'll discuss it with him and get back to you on that.  On the meantime, Ka, maybe you should consider a career in livestock dealership…

                Ka let that one go and Rain left.  She stared at Rose, Mezzen and Zoe for a moment longer, wondering just how badly she'll get wounded when she breaks it to them that she just sold their first born child.  Assuming they'd ever have children.  Which was another problem altogether.  

                "Feeling lonely 'cause the kid's not begging you for attention, Ka?"  Dil's voice chimed, snapping Ka from her thoughts with a start.  The warrior was seated on Ka's other side, grinning like a cat.

                "No, actually."  Ka replied, turning a frown up at Dil.  "I was just taking to Rain."  She stopped, registering the utter lack of understanding on Dil's face.  "The illithid that was my master, Dil.  The illithid."  She corrected herself at once.  "Anyway…Mezzen's master noticed him missing and wants him back."  Dil's features brightened and his smile went from malicious to ecstatic.

                "Really?!"  He breathed.  "And?  When do we bring him back?  Tonight?  If you want me to make it quick, I can knock him out, sling him over my shoulder and run right back to the squids."  He offered, nodding.  Ka smiled at the image but shook her head. 

                "No, Dil.  That won't be necessary."  She swallowed and watched the warrior's features darken right back up.

                "Why?"  Dil's reply was venomous.  Ka's eyes strayed to the side. 

                "Well…the thing is…you see…"  She took a breath and met Dil'andau's gaze once again, "…we're keeping the kid."  She closed her eyes and curled into a ball instantly, covering her head with her hands protectively.  This was going to hurt…

                …and then it didn't.

                Ka slowly inched her head back up and peered over her arms at Dil.  The warrior was staring right at her, his eyes distant and resigned somewhat.  He looked utterly heartbroken.  

                "So, what now?"  Dil droned flatly.  "Let me guess.  You decided to sacrifice yourself instead?"  He raised an eyebrow at Ka.  Ka grinned slyly and resisted the urge to let out a cackle.

                "Not quite."  She answered. Dil's mouth dropped. 

                "You sacrificed _me_?"  He swallowed.  "Oh for Lloth's sake…"  His chest heaved and he looked nervously back over his shoulder at the way they came.

                "No."  Ka cut in immediately and Dil's head whipped back around.  "I don't have the heart to do that."  She grinned evilly.  "I don't like to suffer."  She thumbed at Rose, Zoe and Mezzen a dozen feet away.  "I sold Zoe and Rose's firstborn kid."  She watched Dil's expression go from confused, to curious, to annoyed, and finally to amused.  She should have known better by this point, and only later did it occur to her that it may have been better to smash the warrior over the head with something at that exact moment instead of letting him go with his new knowledge.

                "Are you serious?"  Dil'andau asked, his voice hushed but ill-contained.  His eyes kept darting back and forth between Ka and Zoe.  Ka, the fool she was, nodded solemnly.

                "Hell yes."  Came the final push.  She knew it would happen, on some level at least, but had not been wise enough to prevent it.  In approximately one microsecond, Dil leaned to the side, past her, and cleared his voice.

                "Hey Zoe!"  He called almost kindly and the mage looked over at him dubiously; the grin on Dil's face split wide.  "Your sister here just sold you and your girlfriend's firstborn kid to the illithids!"  He waited a moment for the news to settle in before letting out a loud laugh.  "Ha!"  He cried.  "See what your stupid kid is costing you?!"  He preened.

                Beside him, Ka prayed for Lloth to tear the ground asunder and pull her down to the nine hells.  She looked over at Dil and mouthed the words 'I hate you'; Dil winked at her.  From the side, Rose's voice rose like the tide and footsteps pounded towards her.  Somewhere near, Slayer growled and Mezzen gasped.

                It looked then as though the group wouldn't be covering any more ground that day.

***

                "Why didn't you sell your _own_ kid?"  Rose asked, shaking her head and scooping more water into Zojikoe's hair.  The blood from Dil's re-opened lip had gotten into the mage's hair when he'd wrestled Dil off of Rose, who had leapt at Ka, and had ended up tripping over Slayer, who had been in the way due to the fact that it was chasing Mezzen, who had panicked again and taken off towards the shoreline.  

                "Because she doesn't _have _one!"  Dil snapped moodily.  He sat with his arms protectively around Ka, who ,oddly enough, was the only one who hadn't gotten hurt in the scrape.  

                "Ask doctor stupid…"  Zoe grumbled, barely audibly, his head bent over the water edge where he knelt.  He was outraged and appalled at what his sister had done, and had no clue whether he could ever forgive her for it.  All in all, despite the atrocious circumstances surrounding the deal, the idea of it wasn't all _that _bad when he thought about it.  What if he couldn't _have _children?  What if Mezzen was the only kid he'd ever get?  Then at least he'd get to keep the boy and the illithid could just go to hell…  But then, what if he _could_ have children?  It's not like he had ever tried to.  And what if he got attached to it before it came time to give it away?  What if Rose didn't want to give it away (and he had a nagging feeling that she wouldn't)?  What if _Rose_ was infertile?  What if Rose didn't care to have children with him?

                There were simply too many what ifs.

                "Yours would likely make a…better subject."  Ka answered at last, twiddling her thumbs and watching Mezzen flip through a book he found in Zoe's bedroll.  Zojikoe raised his head suddenly. 

                "That's bullshit!"  He cried and meant to say more, but Rose's hands doused him with more water, shutting him up.  There was a long silence, marred only by the splash of water and the crinkle of pages turning, and Mezzen spoke up brightly.

                "I wanna learn to levitek!"  The boy declared, somehow immune to the heavy atmosphere around him.  Dil laughed harshly. 

                "It's levi_tate_, moron."  He corrected the kid and rolled his eyes.  He didn't see it, but Mezzen stuck his tongue out at him before bounding over to Rose and Zoe by the shore.

                "Show me to levi_tate_, Zoe!"  The boy urged, stressing the last syllable bitterly.  "Come on!"  He bent down and looked at the mage upside down so that he could see his face.  Zoe sighed and sat back, his hair wetting the tops of his robed shoulders. 

                "You just will yourself to do it.  Simple.  Just close your eyes and will it really, really hard.  There's nothing to it."  He said with a light shrug, looking over at Mezzen.  He plucked at his robes a moment and made a face.  "I'm filthy, Mezzen.  I really need a bath.  Maybe we could do this later, alright?"  He suggested.  Mezzen looked crushed.

                "Just show the kid how to do it!"  Dil argued from back near the cave wall.  "It won't take long if it's as easy as you make it out to be."  He took a breath.  "Stop being a priss and be a man.  It's important for the kid to learn these things, you know."  Zoe looked over at Rose, who was critically observing the waters of the canal and appeared to be deep in thought, and then looked over his shoulder at Dil. 

                "You show him."  He countered.  "I'm tired and I want a bath.  It's been days, for Lloth's sake…not everyone can stand themselves smelling like rothe."  He made a face.  Dil shifted uncomfortably. 

                "He's _your_ kid."  He pressed.  "_You_ teach him."  Against him, Ka could feel his grip on her shift, his muscles tightening.  Something was wrong, here…  Zoe growled. 

                "I said _no_!"  He cried, unable to understand why Dil wasn't letting this go (or anything else, for that matter).  "You're obviously not doing anything except heating the ground with your ass, why don't you get useful for once?"  Dil hesitated. 

                "That has nothing to do with anything."  He countered, the vehemence leaving his tone.  Ka was suddenly keenly aware of the warrior's rapid heartbeat.  Nervousness?  Fear?  Anger?

                Across the way, Zoe frowned and raised an eyebrow at Dil'andau.  His eyes fell upon the familiar spectacle of his sister zoning out on her companion as she played in his mind.  It quickly became a successful mining trip as his sister's eyes widened in surprise.

                "You can't levitate."  Ka stated flatly, half speaking to Dil and half reciting her findings.  She blinked once and turned around to face the male.  "You really can't levitate?"  She asked him curiously.  Dil scowled and looked from her to Zoe and Rose, who was now listening as well. 

                "I _could_…"  He replied, letting the subject hang.  He watched as Ka went in for another round of mental snooping and immediately got to his feet.

                Ka stayed on the ground and kept rummaging around just long enough to find a final, single piece of information.  She looked up at Dil when she found it and the warrior returned her stare; he knew she knew.  It was the perfect way to get back at him for not keeping quiet about the illithid deal.  She grinned.

                "Dil levitated once, as a kid."  She declared.  "Then he dropped.  Probably on his head, which explains a lot of things."  She added and winked at Dil as he had done earlier.

                Across the way, Zojikoe errupted into sobs of laughter.  Rose stayed quite still and hid a smile.  Mezzen grinned.  Slayer licked his paws.

                Ka looked to her brother and back again, just in time to see Dil'andau storm off around the bend.  There was something in his manner that lead her to believe that perhaps she had gone a tad too far this time, and it's for that reason that she got to her feet and hurried after him.

                Back by the shore, Mezzen tugged on Rose's sleeve as Zoe sobbed with laughter beside him.  "Rose?"  The boy asked.  "Is Dil broken?"  He looked up at the priestess and she smiled down at him.

                "No dear, he isn't."  She replied kindly.  "Let's just leave them be for a while, shall we?"  She roughly shoved Zoe, who couldn't control himself in his hysterics, and added "I think we could all stand to have a bath, I think."  She got up and pulled Mezzen with her.  "And maybe we can show you the difference between males and females."  She threw in slyly.

                At this, Zoe's hysterics stopped abruptly.

***

                "Dil!"  Ka cried, panting as she tore around a final corner and found the warrior sitting sulkily near the shoreline.  He did not look over at her, nor did he respond.  She sighed and rolled her eyes.  Why oh why…

                When her breath returned to her, she padded over to where Dil sat and plopped down astride his lap; he didn't move or meet her gaze.  For a moment, she considered getting up again and walking away, leaving the conundrum-of-a-drow to his own devices and washing her hands clean of him.  But she couldn't.  _He_ was a freak, and _she_ was a freak.  And if they were going to be freaks, then at least they would be freaks _together_.

                "I'm sorry."  She said at length, taking his face into her hands and searching out his gaze.  He didn't answer her and she frowned, hardening her tone.  "You are an immature, mean-spirited, foolish man and you fully deserve everything I've dealt you thus far."  She scolded sternly.  He looked at her _then_, frowning, and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off before he could.  "And I'm a wonderful, pleasant, glorious individual who deserves nothing below reverence."  She added with a wicked grin.  His frown lifted and he raised an eyebrow.

                "Truce?"  He offered, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her close.  Ka smirked and melted into the embrace. 

                "Truce."  She agreed and kissed him, pressing him down to the cavern floor.


	16. Episode 16

EPISODE 16 

                "Just _will_ yourself to do it," Zojikoe said, setting his cheek on his hand and bracing his arm on his knee.  "That's it, that's all.  You just _will_ yourself to do it."  Mezzen frowned in consternation.

                "I don't understand," he said.  "How do you _will_ something."

                "I . . . you just _do_," Zoe replied, just as frustrated.  "You just . . . you _want_ it to happen, and then it does.  That's willing something.  You need to . . . to . . . to believe it'll happen, and then it will.  Are you following me at all?"

                "Yes?"  Mezzen ventured, then abruptly shook his head.  "No.  No, I'm not.  Is it like pretending?"

                "Kind of," Zoe answered, "but not really.  If you're pretending something you don't believe it.  But if you _will _something then you _do_ believe it, and that's the important part."  Mezzen looked unconvinced.

                "Isn't there like . . . a spell or something?  Magic words?  Or . . . or pretty lights, or something?  Like when Rose heals me?"

                "No Mezzen," Zoe said for what felt like the fiftieth time.  "You just will it, and it happens."

                "What if I can't?"  Mezzen demanded.

                "You can," Zoe replied patiently.  "You're a drow.  All drow can.  They just can.  It's innate."

                "What's –"

                "It's something that you're born with.  That's a part of you.  All drow have a bit of magic inside them, and that's what lets them levitate."

                "Dil'andau can't levitate," Mezzen pointed out.

                "Dil'andau is a big, mean, idiot who's probably too weighed down by the rocks in his head to levitate anywhere," Zoe replied easily.  "I already told you, Dil is the exact _opposite_ of everything the Drow are.  Now, are you going to levitate or not?"  Mezzen shifted his weight uncertainly.

                "Can you explain the willing thing again?"

                Rose and Ka sat several feet away and idly watched the lesson.  Ka grinned as Zoe dropped his head into his hands and shook it, and Mezzen cocked his head and looked at him expectantly.

                "Doesn't look like it's going too well for him, does it?"  She asked, looking over at Rose, who continued petting her cat and ignored her.  Ka blew a stray piece of hair out of her eyes and frowned at the priestess.  "Rose?  Hey!  Rose?"

                "I'm still not talking to you," Rose answered flatly before returning to ignoring the psion.  Ka frowned at her.

                "You're not still mad about that whole me selling your kid thing are you?"  She asked.  "Dammit, Rose, that was two days ago!"  Rose's head whipped around and she narrowed her eyes into slits.

                "I'm going to stab you now," she said, her hand going for her knife.  Ka blinked and nodded slowly.

                "Fair enough," she said, then scrambled to her feet just in time to avoid the tip of Rose's knife, leaving the priestess to her thoughts, which weren't as unpleasant as her briskness with Ka may have suggested.  She had, after all, already reasoned a way out of Ka's stupid deal with the stupid tentacled freaks that inhabited her brain.  When she and Zoe _did_ have a kid, she'd just steal someone else's and give that instead.  There was no way she was going to give up one of her own.

                _Maybe it'll be Ka's kid I steal._  The thought brought a smile to her lips.  Would serve the pushy little psion and her brain-dead, map-losing boyfriend right.  She sighed to herself and attempted to shove her bitterness to the side.  Pushy and brain-dead or not, she still had a long way to travel with them and if the going wasn't going to become unbearable she'd have to (at least temporarily) forgive and forget a lot of things.  Fact of the matter was, the group still needed every member they had to survive and there was no way around that.

                Freaks though they may be.

                _You can kill them later_, she told herself, running her fingers idly through Slayer's short fur.  _When you're the Matron Mother of the most powerful house in Ched Nasad – No!  The Underdark!  And Zoe can be the House Mage, and Mezzen can be the Weapons Master.  He'll grow up into the best damn fighter (fighter-mage,_ she corrected herself) _the Drow have ever seen, and he'll be yours.  Your son._

_                Yours and Zoe's._

                She blinked at the thought and squinted at Zojikoe as though it had been his fault she'd thought it.

                Truth of the matter was (though whether she was pleased, neutral or unimpressed with the fact she had yet to decide) the thought was not new to her.  She'd always kinda _liked_ Zoe – though at first that had been purely situational.  It was Zoe or Ka.  And then Zoe or Dil, or Ka.  And the choice there was more than obvious – but at some point (and she knew exactly when) recently that had shifted subtly and she had begun considering a more than situational relationship with the mage.

                She didn't know many drowesses with mages for lovers, but if all mages were like Zoe then she had a feeling her gender was missing out by going for the big guys.

                _Definitely missing out_, she added, wrinkling her nose as Dil'andau and Ka reappeared from around the bend.

                It had been the bath that had done it for her.  She had never seen Zoe that frightened in all the time she'd known him – not even with the illithids.  At first he had simply stood on the edge of the water while she stripped herself off (and instructed Mezzen to do so as well) and stared at the ceiling, the floor, anywhere but at her.  She was knee deep in the water (waist deep for Mezzen) before she had realized he hadn't followed.  She turned to look and raised an eyebrow at him.

                "Well?"  She'd demanded crisply.  Zoe had swallowed thickly and looked at her, struggling to keep his gaze on her face.  "Let's go, Zoe.  How are we supposed to show him the difference between males and females without a male?"  The mage had cast a pathetic look around, as though unsure of whether or not she was talking to him, before stripping himself off and wading out to join them (blushing beet red by the time he got out there).

                And truth be told he hadn't looked half as bad as she'd expected.  A little on the skinny side maybe, but not emaciated, and the weeks they'd spent traveling had not exactly done him any harm appearance-wise.

                Mezzen had had all _sorts_ of questions that day and Zoe had looked like the kid couldn't have picked a worse time for a fit of curiosity.  All he had wanted to do was end the lesson and the bath and get himself dressed again.  At first Rose had bordered on offence, taking his reluctance as some kind of personal rejection, but the fact that his eyes kept stealing of their own accord back to her belied that and it hadn't taken her long to realize what, exactly, his problem was.

                He was awkward, and uncomfortable, and embarrassed, as though he was a nothing but a young schoolboy getting his first look at a female's body.

                And perhaps, at heart, he was.

                It was at once the most frustrating, wearisome, and endearing thing she'd ever seen in her life.  He had been more embarrassed about the whole thing than Mezzen had been (she was starting to think the boy had no shame, and had said as much only to have Mezzen ask what shame was).

                Apparently they sheltered their boys at Sorcere and Zoe was no exception.  He might not be her first, but she had a feeling she would his.  That was attractive in and of itself.

                Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a startled cry followed shortly by a splash.  She blinked and straightened, forcing her thoughts back to the real world.  Mezzen was sitting in the water, drenched to the bone, and trembling (whether with sobs or cold or anger she couldn't tell).  Zoe was rushing over to him through the water and Dil'andau was on the shore laughing almost as hard as Zoe had been when he'd found out that Dil couldn't levitate.

                "What happened?"  Rose demanded, getting to her feet and walking over.  Mezzen sucked in his breath but didn't take his narrowed eyes off of Dil'andau.

                "I did it," he hissed.  "I finally did it and . . . and . . . and he threw a rock at me a-and I forgot to . . . to _will_ it and I fell."  His eyes narrowed further at Dil's laughter.  "Son a bitch of."

                "Son of a bitch, Mezzen," Zoe corrected him without thinking.  Rose slapped the back of his head and frowned darkly at him.

                "Mezzen, don't swear," she said flatly and then added, loud enough for Dil'andau to hear: "And don't worry about Dil.  He's just jealous because you can levitate and he can't."  He held out her hand as Dil'andau's laughter stopped abruptly.  "Now come on.  Let's go dry you off.  I think we should be moving on anyway.  We've rested long enough."  Mezzen took her hand and climbed unsteadily to his feet, casting a malevolent glare at Dil'andau as they passed.  The fighter just smirked at him.

                "Try me some time, kid," he said smugly.  "Just try me.  I dare you.  We'll see how long you last."  Mezzen clenched his fist and turned away as Zoe stepped between Dil'andau and his line of sight.

***

                It wasn't until that evening when they'd stopped once again to set up camp for the night that Dil'andau noticed it missing.  He turned around from tearing apart his pack and bedroll and glared at Ka.

                "All right, Ka," he said flatly, "give it back."  She frowned at him as she crawled into her own bedroll.  Across from her Rose was settling a sleepy Mezzen into her blankets and Zoe was already in bed.

                "Give what back?"  She demanded.  He crossed his arms and frowned.

                "Don't play stupid," he said flatly.  "Give it back."

                "Dil, I don't have anything of yours," she said just as flatly.  "Shut up and go to sleep."

                "You're the only other one who takes it!"  He cried.  "Give it back to me!"

                "For Lloth's sake, is this about that goddess damned stick again?!"  Zoe growled from the depths of his blankets.  "Ka, just give it back to him.  You're gonna keep Mezzen up."

                Mezzen, however, had perked almost instantly awake at the word stick.

                "I don't have his stupid stick," Ka replied with a frown.  "He took it back from me yesterday and I've been too lazy to steal it back again."

                "That's bullshit!"  Dil'andau cried.  "If you don't have it, then where is it?!"

                "How am I supposed to know?!"  Ka demanded.  "It's _your_ stick!  Where'd you keep it last?"

                "I put it right here with my stuff when I went down to get a drink of water," the fighter growled, panic growing in his voice now.  He started throwing stuff around, trying to find it.  Mezzen made a face and just managed to dodge a pair of dirty pants.  Zojikoe wasn't so lucky.  "I left it right here!  Right fucking here!"

                "Dil'andau!"  Rose snapped.  "Language."

                "I don't care about language!"  He cried.  "My sti– My halberd's missing!"  He whirled around.  "Well don't just sit there!"  He cried.  "Help me find it!"  His party continued to stare at him and not react.  He narrowed his eyes.  "If I don't have that stick," he growled, "I can't very well _fight_ now can I?  And I'm the only one here who _can_ fight if we're attacked by something, or we run out of supplies and need to hunt, or anything else that involves hitting things and making them dead with something sharp and pointy, then I can't do it, without my stick."  As one, the other three blinked and then pushed themselves to their feet.

                "Ka, do you –"  Zoe started, but she cut him off as she shoved Dil'andau over roughly and started going through his things again.

                "I told you, I don't," she said flatly.  "Shut up and look, Zoe."  Zoe muttered something and turned to look through Ka's things anyway, but Dil'andau was in his way.

                "Hey, move," he said unpleasantly, wanting nothing more than to sleep and _not_ be up looking for the stupid drow's stupid stick.  He couldn't even swear about the situation because Mezzen was there, grinning widely at the whole situation.  "Dil'andau!"  He snapped.  "Move!"  But the big warrior did not budge.  He simply stood there and stared, unblinkingly at Mezzen's wide grin.  His face twisted into a knot of hatred and he pointed at the little boy.

                "You," he snarled.  "What did you do with my halberd?!"  Rose rolled her eyes and made a _tsk_ noise.

                "For love of Lloth, Dil'andau, he's just a –"  But even her voice died off when she spotted the grin on Mezzen's face.  "Mezzen?"  She asked, perplexed.  "Do you know what happened to Dil'andau's stick?"

                "It's a halberd," he whined, but it was half-hearted, his eyes still locked on Mezzen's vindictive face.

                "'Say why again, you stupid, _stupid_ kid,'" Mezzen mimicked spitefully.  "Not so tough without your stupid stick, are you?"  He demanded, climbing to his feet and glaring at Dil'andau.  "Not so quick to pick on little kids and attack them and be mean to them and call them names without your stupid little stick, are you?!  Are you?!"  He demanded, his voice rising with every word.

                "Mezzen!"  Rose said reprovingly.  Mezzen's eyes slid over to Rose's and the grin was gone, replaced with an innocent, _he-gave-me-no-choice_ look.

                "He dared me, Rose!"  He cried.  "He did!  He dared me to try him, so I did!"  He looked back at Dil'andau and the vindictive expression was back.

                "WHERE IS IT?!"  Dil'andau thundered, leaping at Mezzen.  _This_ time, however, Mezzen was ready for him   He scrambled underneath the warrior's reach and spun around behind him, kicking him behind his knees and sending him tumbling to the ground.

                "Dil!"  Ka gasped rushing over to him.  Mezzen shook with suppressed excitement and triumph.  He pointed at Dil.

                "If you try and attack me again I swear to . . . to . . . I swear to . . ."  He cast a desperate look at Rose who was looking at him with an appraising expression.

                "Lloth," she supplied.

                "I swear to Lloth," he finished, "that I'll hold my breath until I pass out and then you'll _never know where your stupid stick is!"_

                "Nice finish," Zoe muttered with a sigh.  "We'll have to work on that."  Rose elbowed him.

                "You little –"  Dil moved as though to lunge at him again, but Mezzen made good on his threat and closed his eyes, sucked in his breath and held it.  Dil screamed in frustration, but stopped his advance.  Mezzen opened one eye to see if he was still going for him and then released his breath in a rush.

                "Where's my halberd," Dil growled, glaring at the little boy.  Mezzen smirked at him.

                "Not until you take back all the nasty things you said about me, _and_ about Zoe," he said, crossing his arms.  "And then you have to tell Zoe that he's the best, most talented person that you have ever met and that he's a trillion bazillion gazillion times better than you'll ever be."  He paused and thought about.  "And that you're a stupid moron."

                "What?!"  Dil shrieked.  "I'm not saying that!!"

                "Then I'm not telling you where your stick is," Mezzen replied.  Dil hit the ground with his fist and moved to jump him again but stopped when Mezzen sucked in his breath to hold it.  He didn't doubt for a second that the little shit would make good on his threat and pass himself right the hell out.  He growled and clenched his fists.

                "Fine," he said.  "I take it back.  I take it all back.  Now where's my stick?"

                "No.  You have to say the rest of it."  Dil's eyes narrowed exponentially and he hissed the words out through clenched teeth.

                "Zoe is a stupid fucker who –"

                "That's not what you're supposed to say!"  Mezzen cried shrilly.  "I'll hold my breath!  I'll do it!"

                "Zoe is the best, m-most talented, piece of cra–"  Mezzen sucked in his breath "– person," Dil corrected himself, "that I have ever met."

                "And?"  Zoe asked with a raised eyebrow.  Rose elbowed him again.

                "And he's a trillion bazillion gazillion times better than I'll ever be."

                "And?"  Ka asked.  Dil rounded on her.

                "Whose side are you on?!"  He cried.

                "The side that gets you your stick back and us our bodyguard, now finish doing what the kid says, Dil, he's holding his breath."

                "AndI'mastupidmoron," Dil said in a rush.

                "Pardon?"  Mezzen asked, grinning.

                "And I'm a stupid moron," Dil finished in a growl.  "Now where's.  My.  Stick."  Mezzen's grin grew wider.

                "I chucked it in the water," he said with a grin.  Dil squeaked with sudden panic and bolted past the whole party, throwing himself into the water as though his life depended on it, screaming obscenities and insanities back over his shoulder at Mezzen the whole time.  Zoe had started laughing, and Rose looked as though she was trying to decide if she should do anything about the whole situation.  Ka, however, was still watching the kid.

                That was the single, meanest thing she'd ever seen anyone do to Dil – herself included, and she'd done a lot of mean things to Dil, but somehow, if her interpretation of Mezzen's grin was correct, she didn't think his trick was over.  She moved over to the boy, who was grinning at the sight of Dil thrashing about in the water looking for his halberd and frowned down at him.

                "His stick's not in the water, is it Mezzen?"  She demanded.  Mezzen ignored her.  "Is it?!"  She repeated louder.  He continued to ignore her.  She narrowed her eyes and reached out with her mind, grabbing his and sifting through it for the information she wanted.  He glared at her in irritation out of the corner of his eyes and she suddenly found herself quite violently thrown out of his head.  She stumbled back a step and stared at him, her eyes growing wide with disbelief.

                _He just blocked me!_  She gasped mentally.  _He just . . . he can't have!  That means . . . that means he's . . . he's . . . he's . . . _

_                Well,_ Rain chimed in dryly.  _Isn't this an interesting turn of events?  A _second_ psion in the group . . ._  Ka didn't even bother to reply.  She couldn't between her own shouted insanities that leapt from her mouth as she lunged at the kid.  He gasped in surprise and turned to her just as she wrapped her hands up in his shirt and lifted him into the air, slamming him back against the wall of the cave.  He screamed in fright and immediately started struggling in her grasp.

                "ROSE!"  He shrieked.  "ZOE!  HELP!  HELP ME!"  She shook him and he screamed again and started crying.

                "You little _rat_!"  She cried, glaring at him as he stared back at her with a terrified expression.  "Don't you ever, EVER do that again!  EVER!  NO ONE denies me that, you understand me?!  Next time you block me like that I will PERSONALLY fuck you UP!"

                "GET HIM KA!"  Dil'andau cried from the water.  "GET HIM!"

                "KA!"  Zoe shrieked, leaping at her.  He grabbed the back of her coat and struggled to pull her away from his adopted son.

                "Let him go!"  Rose cried, trying to pry Mezzen out of her grasp.  "DAMMIT KA!  LET HIM GO!"  Zoe finally managed to pull her away and struggled to pull her farther despite her efforts to lunge back at him.

                "He's a PSION!"  She shrieked.  "The kid is a PSION!"  Rose clutched Mezzen tightly and backed up against the wall, pressing his face into her shoulder.  Mezzen sobbed in terror.

                "What's a psion?!"  He cried.  "What did I do?!  Is it a disease?!  Is it contagious?!  Am I gonna die?!"  Ka screamed again and almost escaped Zoe's grasp, which caused Mezzen to scream again and clutch at Rose tighter, seeking protection in her arms.  "Keep her away!"

                "Ka!"  Zoe growled, trying to control his sister.  "What the Hell's the matter with you?!"  By this time Dil'andau had rejoined the group – quite halberdless – and was grinning like a cat.  "Take her, hold her still," Zoe ordered, shoving Ka at him.

                "Why?"  Dil'andau demanded.  "Let her kill the little rat."

                "DIL'ANDAU!"  Rose and Zojikoe both shouted at him.  He rolled his eyes and grabbed Ka by the shoulders, easily holding the trembling Psion in place.

                "Geez," he muttered.  "No need to get touchy."  Looking at them a moment longer to reassure himself that Dil would hold Ka still, Zoe turned back to Rose and walked up to where she was stroking Mezzen's hair reassuringly.

                "Is he hurt?"  He asked in concern.  She shook her head.

                "Just scared I think," she said.

                "Where's my stick?!"  Dil'andau demanded from behind him.  Rose and Zoe glared at him nastily enough that he shrank back under the duel gaze but Mezzen pointed miserably at Rose's blankets.

                "I h-hid it in . . . in there," he hiccupped.  "W-who c-cares about your . . . your stupid st-stick, a-anyway!"  That said he buried his face in Rose's neck again.  Dil'andau shoved Ka to the side and dove for Rose's blankets, tearing them off and grabbing his stick from under them, hugging it tightly.

                "Mother of spiders," Ka muttered, glaring at the fighter from where she'd fallen on her ass.  "Sometimes I think you like that stick more than me."  Dil'andau glared back over at her.

                "Sometimes I do," he responded, still irritated at what the kid had done.  Ka (also still irritated at what the kid had done) narrowed her eyes at him.

                "Yeah?"  She demanded.  "Well why don't you have sex with _it_ next time instead of with me!"

                _You know, Rain said mentally, _I could have sworn you didn't _want__ your other friends to know about that . . . Ka blinked in surprise and horror and whipped her head around to where Zoe and Rose had stopped comforting Mezzen and were staring at her with looks of mingled shock, nausea and disgust.  Mezzen sniffled._

                "W-what's sex?"


	17. Episode 17

EPISODE 17 

                "Oh well that's just _great_."  Zoe grumbled bitterly, stopping dead in his tracks and making an exasperated gesture.  "We're venturing into the _spot_."  He pointed at the dark stain on the map, which began at the intersection of a fork in the tunnel they'd been trekking through; that very fork was directly in front of them now, unmistakable and unavoidable.  For what appeared to be the next few days, guessing by their previous pace and its visual representation on the map, they would be traveling the section of the map that was covered by the loathsome brown stain.  

                "It's not the end of the world, Zoe."  Rose soothed, stopping beside the mage and peering over at the map in his hands.  Zoe drew back and shot her an incredulous stare.

                "Rose!"  He cried.  "There could be all sorts of surprises in there!  _Bad_ ones."  He held the map up and squinted at it, trying his best to decipher the section covered by the stain.  "I see words on here…"  He whined and sighed heavily, "…what if it's important?  For Lloth's sake, what if it's a warning?!"  He brought the map closer to his face in panic, then yelped and jumped back as the paper was violently torn from his hands by Dil'andau.

                "It's a straight _line_, moron!"  The warrior snapped, jabbing his finger at the stain on the map.  "_See_?  Who cares what the words say?  There's no gap in the path and there's no other way to go, so therefore there's nothing to flip out about."  He examined Zoe's dull, unimpressed look and raised an eyebrow.  "You know, Zojikoe,"  He began, lowering the map suddenly.  "Sometimes I wonder about you.  You see…you listen to the females,"  He nodded slowly, holding Zoe's fuming gaze, "and that gives you the _brain_ damage.  You don't know what the simple things in life are all about!"  He meant to go on, but Zoe lifted a finger and Rose's panther tackled him from the side, taking his feet out from under him.

                "Wow,"  Zoe said quietly, snatching up the map from the fallen Dil's fingers, "and for a second there, I thought you were actually going to come up with something intelligent…"  He shook his head and chuckled, then moved off to join Rose, who'd gone up ahead the second Dil'andau had started talking.

                Leisurely, Ka and Mezzen strode by Slayer and Dil.  The drowess smiled but didn't bother to turn her head.  "Sucker."  She hissed at the cat-on-man lump and moved on by.  She could have sworn she saw a rude gesture from the corner of her eye.

                "Didn't I tell you to shoo, kid?"  Ka just about barked at Mezzen, noticing the boy suddenly.  Excited and curious as always, Mezzen had been gravitating around, in front of and behind the group since they'd set out that morning.  If something caught his eye, he'd go to it immediately and be fascinated by it; it was utterly impossible to cover any ground with the kid holding everyone up every two minutes, and so they had let him wander about, though always within visual range.

                "You did, yep."  Mezzen answered nervously and hurried his pace to catch up with Zoe and Rose.  "Sorry to bother you."  He had been hanging back, staring at a hole in the cavern wall, and had suddenly realized just how far back he was when Zoe had stopped to complain about the map.  Realizing that he was now dangerously close to both Ka _and_ Dil'andau, he tried to make a hasty departure.

                And failed.

                "Not so fast."  Ka said, grabbing the boy's shoulder as he sped by and pulling him back into step with her.  She turned a rank grin down at him.  "You can run to safety in a bit."  She assured him.  "But right _now_, we're going to have a little chat."  Mezzen looked dubious. 

                "Is this about the stick again?"  He asked, his eyes darting back to Zoe and Rose every other second.  "Because I can scream _really _loud–"  He began but stopped short when Ka's hand swatted the back of his head, ruffling his hair.

                "Fine."  Ka hissed.  "You want this to be hard, then it'll _be _hard."  She clutched Mezzen's shoulder tightly so as to keep him from taking off, screaming like a siren.  "We're going to discuss some rules, now that we know you're a psion.  Rule number one: don't threaten me.  If you _do_, I'll scream too.  Loud."  She narrowed her eyes at the boy.  Mezzen narrowed his eyes back. 

                "I just _did_ threaten you."  He retorted smartly.  "So there.  And if I scream first, Zoe'll get to you before Dil gets to me."  He stuck his tongue out.  Ka's eyes narrowed further.  The boy had gotten cockier since the night before.  Apparently besting Dil, sucking up to Rose, refusing his fellow psion and managing to live through it all had boosted his confidence.  Perhaps the profoundly disturbing (and not to mention comical)  yelling fight between Zoe and Ka over Ka's 'adventure' with Dil had erased from the boy's mind his horror over Ka's reaction to him being a psionicist.  Perhaps he needed a pointed reminder.

                "Think so, do you?"  Ka's voice was grading.  She took a moment to rethink the wisdom of what she was about to do, and then promptly ignored the internal protests.  She hadn't slept at all the night before, was in a rotten mood because of it, and Mezzen was jumping on her one remaining nerve.

"Yeah!"  Mezzen countered vehemently.  He sucked in his breath, his small chest heaving.  Ka grinned.

"Bring it on."  She challenged.  That said, the boy shrieked at the top of his lungs; Ka sucked in her own breath and shrieked too.

                Up ahead, Zoe and Rose whipped around in a panic, nearly knocking their heads together as they did.  Instead of seeing a blood-thirsty demon of the elemental plane of fire chomping down on a Mezzen-leg and a Ka-arm, they saw two perfectly fine drow standing idly in the middle of the tunnel, eyes closed and yelling at the top of their lungs.  Far back behind the boy and Ka, Dil'andau was standing quite still, watching the scene, looking suspiciously as though if he had a suicide button handy, he'd be pressing it right then.

                Out of breath, both Ka and Mezzen ceased their screaming almost simultaneously.  Like a mirror image, they both whirled around curiously, confused at the fact that neither of their assigned protectors had come running.  Mezzen huffed and pouted.  Ka looked over at Zoe and Rose and waved idly; she raised her thumbs and mouthed 'I'm okay'.  At this, Zoe started forward with a look of murder on his face, but Rose's arm stopped him from going any further.

                "What in the nine hells _are_ you doing?"  Rose called, frowning; hands now on her hips.  Across the way, Ka made a dismissive gesture.

                "I fell."  She answered, the lie was so blatant it hurt.  Or at least the look on Zoe's face translated as much.  Rose raised an eyebrow. 

                "And Mezzen too, I suppose?"  She asked dully.  Ka nodded. 

                "Yeah."  Came the simple answer.  She nudged the boy and he nodded stiffly.  Rose, mouth open and eyes narrowed, stared past Ka and Mezzen and found Dil's gaze.  

                "I'm not getting involved."  Dil grumbled in reply to the silent appeal.  Rose sighed heavily and looked up at the cavern ceiling.  A hand patted her on the shoulder and she looked over to see Zojikoe there.  She made a pathetic face.  "I _used_ to be cool…"  She whined and held back tears.  Zoe nodded and pulled her in for a hug before turning her back around and heading out again.

                Back behind them, Ka let out a breath and retook hold of Mezzen's shoulder, hurrying him along.  "Okay, so that backfired."  She declared hurriedly.  "But anyway, back to the rules I wanted you to know about."  Mezzen grumbled something and she squeezed his shoulder.  "Shut up.  Rule number one: don't threaten me or I'll fuck you up.  Rule number two: you pick around in my head, I fuck you up.  Rule number three–"

                "But you pick around in _my_ head!"  Mezzen cried, mortally offended at the injustice of the rule, "That's not fair!"  He frowned up at Ka.  Ka shrugged. 

                "You worship Lloth now, remember?  Get used to double-standards.  I'd blame Rose if I were you."  She smiled flatly.  "Now then, as I was saying.  Rule number three: feel like trying something new out?  Don't try it out on me or I'll fuck you up."  She thumbed back at Dil'andau.  "Use Dil for that.  Rule number four: no reading females' minds.  They can fuck you up.  Females include me.  Rule number five: no reading, playing with, _rejecting_, or otherwise touching the minds of other psions who are more powerful than you are, because yes, you guessed it, they can fuck you up.  That includes me."  She smiled and nodded once, happy with herself for that.  Mezzen's face scrunched up for a moment and then he nodded slowly. 

                "I get it."  He said at length.  "But…how do I know who's a psion too?"  He asked, eyes wide.  Ka shrugged. 

                "Trial and error, my friend."  She suggested idly.  Mezzen raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.

                "But doesn't that go against everything you just said?"  He tried.  He wondered; maybe Ka was walking too close to Dil'andau…maybe there was a stupidity aura about him…  Ka cleared her throat and blinked down at Mezzen. 

                "Shoo, kid.  Go find Zoe."  She replied flatly.  The boy didn't move right off the bat, and so she propelled him forward with her hand until he scurried off and wedged himself between Rose and Zoe up ahead.

                _I'd like to point out that most of the trouble in your group happens before bedtime and in the morning_.  Rain's voice chimed inside Ka's head then, always on cue with her most poisonous of moods.  _So I was thinking…if the lot of you simply _didn't _sleep…  _Ka made a face.  

                _That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  What do you want, Rain?  I'm tired and flippy._

                _That you are_, came Rain's reply.  _I'm debating not even bothering with any news; you seem to never be able to take it well, and your tone hurts my feelings.  _Ka nearly choked on her own spit.  

                _I never ceases to amaze me how you think you it pleasant to add salt to my wounds day after day.  I'm glad I amuse you, Rain.  Really.  I could just pass myself out right now, you know; I watched the kid long enough to see how he does it, too.  _Rain gurgled a laugh.  

                _You should try it sometime; just wait a bit, though – I'd like to actually _see_ it in action!  But really, I'll make this as short as possible…just in case you decide to pass yourself out anyway.  _Ka blinked.  

                _You have two minutes._

                _I spoke with Mezzen's master._  Rain's tone was one of mixed disgust.  _I suggested a replacement for his pet and he took a fit; apparently a new boy wouldn't be 'the same' as his old one.  He's so melodramatic, it's sickening…  But anyway, he's dying of loneliness; you should see him.  Acts like the boy's still there.  The others are getting restless at his behavior; his mood is affecting the collective.  The depression is unbearable.  Hell, I've even been out on my balcony more than once this week…  _Ka shook her head and laughed.  

                _Ha.  Just wait before you throw yourself off, champ; I'd like to see _that_ in action!_

                '_Uncool', Ka._  Rain quipped, using a word she'd used with him before.  _So, what do you want to do about it?    _Ka narrowed her eyes at Mezzen up ahead.  

                _Why's it always _me _that's got to think of something?_

                _Because _you're _the one who stole the kid.  Remember?_  Rain sounded tired.

                _No, I'm not._  Ka argued, but then shook her head.  _Okay, okay…whatever.  Let's see here…so if I can't get your buddy a new pet, then there's no point in me offering you Rose's pet panther.  Hmm…wow, I wish I'd have slept last night.  Sweet mother of spiders…I'm starved too._

                _You're stalling_, Rain snapped.  Ka glanced over her shoulder at Dil'andau, who walked quietly a few feet behind her, humming a tune to himself.  He winked at her and spun his halberd, happy to have the blade back.  

                _Okay.  How about this: Mezzen's a psion, stupid uniqueness-usurping kid, and so he should be able to communicate with his master like I'm communicating with you.  How about we just set up a link between them and have them be together like that?  Would that work for your buddy or not?  _Rain seemed to think a while, his voice momentarily gone.  

                _That may yet work.  Good, good then!  I'll speak with Mezzen's master again and I'll tell you how that went.  _Ka let out a breath.  

                _Excellent.  Now then; I believe your two minutes are well up…_   Rain laughed again.  

                _A pity.  Then I leave you with this, Ka: my quarters were violated yesterday.  It would appear that someone has been searching for something that I no longer have…  A handful of others have also been searched.  More alarmingly, the one I bought your friend Rose off of was questioned as to her whereabouts._  Ka frowned.  

                _Wah.  Alright…I'll speak to her about it and find out what I can, but…in the meantime, you know, just in case…_

                _Yes, I'll cover your backside if I get questioned as well_.  Rain replied before she could finish the question.  _You know…I think I may be beginning to understand Mezzen's master…  Damn.  _Ka rolled her eyes and let Rain's presence leave her mind, but not before getting in one final word.  

                _Freak_.

                "Someone looks like she needs a piggy-back!"  Dil'andau piped up cheerily from behind, watching as Ka's pace slowed during her conversation with Rain.  He fell into stride beside her and grinned.  "I thought for sure you'd run into a wall.  You pay _no_ attention to where you're going when you've got squids on the brain."  He shook his head.  "It's sad."  Ka narrowed her eyes at him but climbed onto his back nevertheless as soon as he moved to offer it. 

                "Take me to Rose and Zoe, please.  I have to talk to them."  She paused.  "Well, to Rose.  And less to Zoe, but I wanna see how much taller than him I am like this."  At this Dil moved to catch up with the lead.  As soon as he came close, Mezzen frantically gestured to Zoe and the mage hoisted him onto his shoulders so that the kid wouldn't be missing out on the person-bearing fun.  Ka stuck her tongue out at Mezzen as soon as he climbed atop Zoe. 

                "Okay,"  She declared after a small staring fight with the boy.  "I spoke with Rain and we changed the deal."  Rose snorted. 

                "What _now_, Ka?  I have to give the illithid my second-born too?"  She commented moodily.  Ka sighed. 

                "No.  Don't be so cranky."  She snapped and hurried to continue as soon as Zoe sucked in a breath to freak out.  "Mezzen's master really, really misses him and can't _bear_ the thought of replacing him."  She went on, adding drama to it all.  Beneath her, Dil chuckled.

                "Wow…if mind flayers wrote romance novels…"  The warrior mused cynically.  Mezzen, offended at the joke, launched a small kick at Dil from atop his perch.

                "Right, so anyway,"  Ka went on, "I suggested that since the boy's a _psion_,"  She hacked the word, "he could set up a link with his master like I have with Rain, and so that way, both we _and_ his master could have him.  Get it?" She looked over at Rose, who looked sharply up at her.

                "What if he tries to take the boy from me?"  She asked possessively, eyes narrowed into slits.  Zoe looked over at her and she corrected herself immediately, "Us.  I mean us.  What if he tries to take Mezzen away from Zoe and I?"  She rephrased.  Zoe's smile was placid.

                "You mean like you did?"  Dil commented idly.  Rose and Zoe ignored him.  From atop the mage, Mezzen shook his head. 

                "He's not like that."  He threw in, defending his old master.  "And I kinda miss him."  He scrunched up his nose and everyone in the group braced themselves for a downpour of tears.

                "Alright, alright…"  Rose said at last, before the silence grew too heavy, "…that sounds like an alright deal."  She frowned.  "A hell of a lot better than giving up my firstborn kid."  She looked over at Ka and pursed her lips.  She wasn't ready to forgive and forget just yet.  Ka smiled and ignored the look.

                "Great!"  She cooed.  "The other thing is that Rain's place and some other guys' places were trashed last night.  People have been looking for you, Rose.  Your old master was questioned, too."  At this, Rose went stiff.  "Rain said he'd cover for us if he gets questioned too."  Zoe looked over at Rose as the priestess stopped in her tacks and took on a most distressed look.  He drew close to her. 

                "Rose?  What's going on?"  He asked, concerned.  Dil let Ka down from his back and smirked.

                "Your sister's out to get you, methinks."  He said calmly.  "She always did have quite the hate-on for you…"  He pondered for a moment, and then frowned deeply.  "And she was very, very ugly too."  He added for good measure.  Rose was too caught up in her own thoughts to shoot him a glare.

                "I didn't think she'd come looking for me all the way out here…"  Rose said softly, still pensive.  She went quiet and Zoe pulled her near; Mezzen reached down to touch the top of her head.  

                "If she shows up, she's as good as dead."  Ka declared with a smirk.  "There's four – five – of us…six, rather, including the cat…and one of her.  And even if she brings cronies, we'll take them out too."  She looked over at Dil and winked.  "I'll be right behind you."  She added slyly.  Dil was unimpressed.

                "That's what I thought."  He grumbled.

                "You're right."  Rose said after a while, though she didn't make too much of an effort to make it sound convincing.  She pulled away from Zoe and Mezzen and straightened out her robes.  "We should get moving then; maybe my sister'll get tired of chasing.  Or maybe she'll slip on something and break her neck."  She smiled.  "Either way we should move."  She moved up ahead and beckoned for the others to come, which they did, casting suspicious glances behind them.


	18. Episode 18

EPISODE 18 

****

****

"No!  Why don't you do it?!"

                "Dil'andau, quit being so stubborn!"  Rose cried, following after the fighter as he attempted to walk away from her.  "Would it kill you to teach him?"

                "No, but it might kill _him_," Dil'andau replied darkly, frowning over at where Mezzen had managed to bury himself in Zoe's pack and was once again looking for books to read (or pretend to read at least since most of the books Zoe carried were far beyond Mezzen's current level of comprehension).  "You teach him.  I'm not a knife guy, Rose.  _You know how to use those dinky little things.  _You _teach him.  Besides," he added, almost as an afterthought, "he's _your_ stupid kid."  She frowned at him._

                "Dil, he's not going to be using a knife forever," she said flatly, crossing her arms.  "Sooner or later he'll need something bigger and I'm not good enough with the bigger weapons to teach him properly.  _You have to do it."_

                "Why me?!"  He demanded shrilly, whirling around to face her, ignoring the startled looks the cry awarded him from the rest of the party.  She raised an eyebrow.

                "I should think that would be fairly obvious by now," she responded primly.  "Zojikoe's a mage, not a fighter.  Ka's a psion, not a fighter.  I'm a priestess, not a fighter.  You're a fighter.  You fight.  You use weapons.  And you'll teach Mezzen to use weapons."

                "I will not," he repeated, but his tone was more sullen than stubborn now.  She'd been pestering him for the past day and half and he was starting to cave.  He tried to edge away from her but she followed.  "Kid doesn't need to know anything.  Why doesn't Zoe teach him to be a pansy little mage like him?"  Rose frowned at him.

                "He will," she answered.  "But you're going to teach him to be a fighter at the same time.  He can do both."

                "Kid's gonna give me a attitude," he tried, glaring at the priestess.  "Always does.  I can't teach a kid who won't respect his elders."  He turned to walk away again, attempting to make that the final word, but Rose (who thought that statement was kind of hypocritical coming from Dil'andau) refused to give up.

                "I'll have a talk with him," she answered.  "He'll listen to me.  Dil'andau, please, just teach him.  It doesn't have to be a lot right now, but he needs to learn something.  He spent too much time with the illithids and he doesn't know anything about anything important.  If we ever make it back to the city, he's never going to be able to survive there without knowing how to fight at least a bit.  And what if Kirisstind _does catch up to us?!  What if she goes for him before she goes for any of us?!  What if she's got a million lackeys with her and they jump us and none of us can protect Mezzen and he can't protect himself?!"  She looked like she was about to pull a Mezzen and hyperventilate.  He continued to glare at her and she stamped her foot almost petulantly.  "Dammit, Dil'andau!  I said please!  What more do you want?!"_

                "I want you to leave me alone!"  Dil'andau cried.  "I thought you were still mad at me for forgetting about the map.  Why are you even talking to me?!"

                "I'll go away if you promise to teach Mezzen to fight," she said.  "But until you do I will hound you until we both drop from exhaustion."  Her eyes flashed, backing up the veracity of her statement.  Dil'andau cried out in frustration and threw his hands into the air.

                "FINE!"  He shouted.  "Lloth!  I'll teach the stupid kid to fight!  Now leave me alone!"

                "Excellent!"  Rose cried, clapping delightedly.  "I'll go tell him.  You can start tonight when we set up camp."

***

                "You know," Zoe said thoughtfully as he and his sister crouched behind a rock and watched the large, colorful, pointless-looking bird dip its head down for a drink from the small pool it was standing at.  Their food supplies were starting to run low despite the refills Rain had given them when they'd left the illithid city (Dil'andau and Mezzen had shown an amazing ability to pack away more than twice their share of food if allowed) and it had been decided (mostly by Rose, though in this case at least the others had found little cause to disagree) that if they could find something else to eat when they stopped, they should.  The bird (the same kind Mezzen had hyperventilated over) was the first thing that Ka and Zojikoe had found and it looked as good a bet as anything else.  "Why are we still trying to find the Rose, exactly?  I mean . . . it's not like you can just go home with it and expect to be welcomed with open arms.  Irrialishae _obviously sent you out here hoping you'd do something stupid like get yourself enslaved, or eaten, or just trip over your own two feet and crack your head hard enough to kill yourself.  And all things considered that may yet happen since, thanks to your boy-toy's idiocy, we have no idea what we're walking into."_

                "Lloth, you're annoying.  Why did _I have to go with you?"  Ka demanded sullenly.  "Why didn't Rose go with you?"_

                "Because Rose stayed to make sure you're stupid boy-toy didn't kill Mezzen during their lesson, and we obviously can't trust you to watch him, since you tried to kill him too, the other night."

                "Little parasite _blocked_ me, Zoe," she growled.  "We've been over this.  I can't just let something like that go.  And stop calling Dil my boy-toy."

                "Why?"  Zojikoe demanded, glaring flatly ahead.  "That's what he is, isn't it?  It had better be, Ka, because if you take this . . . relationship," the word came out the same way 'mutated-oozing-baby-corpses' might have come out, "any further than boy-toy, I'm not just going to kill you, I'm going to cut you into tiny little pieces and feed you to your illithid friend."  He shuddered.  "As _if you'd pollute our gene pool with __Dil'andau."  Again, the word came out the same way that 'mutated-oozing-baby-corpses' would have.  Ka glared at him._

                "We're not having the Dil'andau conversation again," she said flatly.

                "I hate you," Zoe hissed at her.  "I hate you for doing that."

                "Did you even hear me?"  She demanded, then frowned as the bird looked up suddenly, peering in their direction with narrowed eyes.  

                "_Uuuwa," it called uncertainly.  Zoe and Ka held their breath until it ruffled it's colorful feathers in irritation and looked back down at the water._

                "Never mind that," Ka said.  "Just . . . hurry up and kill the bird."  Zoe turned back to the bird and forced himself away from the mental image of his sister and Dil'andau wrapping their hands around anything that _wasn't each other's throats.  He closed his eyes and focused, softly chanting the words to the first-spell that came to his mind.  Ka frowned slightly at the time it was taking and looked over at him just as his eyes flashed open and he released the spell.  The bird didn't even have time for a startled _Uuwaa!_** before it toppled over, dead as a stone.  Ka punched her brother on the shoulder.**_

                "An insta-death spell?!"  She demanded.  "Was that even necessary?!  You probably could of flamestruck the stupid thing and scared it to death!"  Zoe rolled his eyes.

                "Oh like it matters," he said.  "We're going to bed in a bit anyway.  It's not like we're going to need my high-level spells today.  All I need to do is re-memorize it tonight and we're good to go.  Besides," he added, getting to his feet and cracking his knuckles, "it's been a long time since I used that one and I felt like it.  Now help me drag this stupid thing back to camp so we can eat it."

                "Maybe we should pluck it here first," Ka suggested wryly, getting to her feet as well.  "Lest your boy decide to take another fit . . ."

***

                By the time the Venorik'Z'ress siblings returned to camp, Rose was holding a bruised and battered Mezzen in her arms and healing him, and Dil'andau was nursing a bruised shin.

                "How'd the lesson go?"  Ka asked brightly, undaunted by the dark looks shot at her by both Dil and Mezzen.

                "Little brat kicked my shin when I tried to teach him how to block an attack," Dil'andau growled, glaring darkly at Mezzen who returned the glare openly from the shelter of Rose's arms.

                "It was an accident!"  He cried.

                "How do you _accidentally_ kick someone in the shins?!"  Dil'andau shouted back.

                "How do you teach someone to block by trying to kick their head in?!"  Mezzen shouted back.

                "We've only been gone maybe a half-hour," Zoe said incredulously, interrupting the shouting match.  "I thought the lesson would be longer."

                "Any longer," Rose said with painfully false cheerfulness, "and one of them would have wound up dead.  We'll work on that, though, won't we boys?"  She backed up her question with a pointed look at both Mezzen and Dil.

                "Two words," Ka said, dropping her half of the carcass to shoo Slayer away from it.  She moved to pick it back up then thought better of it, and left Zoe to tend to the cleaning and cutting of it, "anger management."    Mezzen frowned at her, then pulled Rose's face down so he could whisper something to her: no doubt a question about the definition of anger management.

                "You're one to talk," Dil'andau said.  "You flip out as often as I do."

                "Only when I need to, lover," Ka answered glibly.  Dil'andau brightened at the pet name (though whether Ka had used it out of actual sincerity, the desire to brighten his mood, or the desire to darken her brother's he didn't know, nor did he really care).  Zoe, making an obvious effort to ignore his sister and Dil'andau, walked over to Rose and Mezzen (who by this point was fully healed) and held out his hand to the boy.  In it was an unnecessarily large and gaudy feather.  Mezzen's eyes widened and immediately all thoughts of the beating he'd received during the short lesson with Dil'andau faded into the background and a slew of questions roared to the front.

                "What's this?!  Where'd it come from?  Did it come from that?"  He pointed at the carcass.  "Was it a bird?  How did you kill it?  What does it taste like?  Can I have the feather?  What is it made of?  Does it do anything?  Was the bird dangerous?  Did you have to fight it?  I bet you were cool!  Did you use magic?  What spell did you use?!  Can I learn it?!  How come it's naked?  Shouldn't it have feathers?  Are we gonna eat the beak?  What about the feet?  They don't look very good."  He made a face and Zoe took advantage of the momentary lapse in questions to laugh and set the feather in his hands.

                "Of course I was cool," he said.  "I'm always cool."  Dil and Ka both started laughing as though he'd told a joke.  Mezzen frowned.

                "What are they –"

                "Nothing," Zoe said quickly, pulling him out of Rose's arms.  "Come on and I'll show you how to prepare an animal for eating."

                "Are you gonna suck out its brains?  Like the illithids do?  Is that how you eat it?"  Rose smiled as Zoe attempted to fend off Mezzen's questions (questions she assumed would only grow more enthusiastic and fast-paced once the mage actually cut the bird open) and then turned to Dil'andau.

                "Do you need me to take a look at your shin?"  She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.  "He kicked you pretty hard."  Dil'andau looked at her suspiciously.

                "Why?"  He asked.  "What's the catch?"  She frowned at him.

                "Well aren't we trusting," she said.  "No catch.  Are you hurt or not?"  Dil frowned at the question, but Ka (having already been picking through his mind) answered for him.

                "He's fine Rose," she answered.  "He's just being a baby and looking for attention.  His pride's bruised more than his ego."  Dil'andau glared at her.

                "Someday I'll get mind powers too and then we'll see who's cool," he growled.

                "You need a mind first," Rose and Ka chimed in at the same time.

                "Speaking of psions," Ka said, ignoring Dil's frown, "Rain contacted me on my way back.  Mezzen's old master agreed to the mental link and I'm supposed to set it up ASAP."  Rose's expression melted into one that suggested she smelled something bad.  Ka raised an eyebrow at her.  "Hey," she said, "I can always insist on yours and Zoe's first-born child, you know.  Assuming you two ever manage to get that far."  Dil's frown flipped itself and took on a mean tint.

                "You mean you haven't?!"  He asked, looking at Rose, who's silence was all the confirmation he needed, and then turned his gaze towards Zoe and Mezzen.  His eyes lit up.  "I think I'm gonna go help Zoe with that bird . . ."  He was on his feet before either of the females could stop him, and ignoring both of their demands to sit back down leave the mage alone.  Rose stared after him, fuming.

                "No respect," she muttered.  "How can you stand him, Ka?  _Why do you stand him?"  Ka ignored the question._

                "You still haven't said anything on the mental link idea," Ka said.  "You want me to set it up or not?"  Rose gave a disgruntled sigh and lay back, staring up at the roof of the cavern.

                "I suppose I've little choice if I want to keep him _and the rest of my children," she said.  "So long as the squid-thing doesn't try and take him away from me.  Closet or no closet I'll go back there and kill them all, I swear to Lloth."_

                "My, my, aren't we attached," Ka said dryly.

                Meanwhile, Zojikoe watched Dil'andau's approach with narrowed eyes.  His robes were pulled all the way up past his elbows and tied there and his hands were covered in blood, one holding a knife.  He held the weapon out and frowned at the fighter.  "What do you want?"  He demanded.

                "Nothing much," Dil'andau said congenially enough.  "You looked like you could use a hand, and this is a pretty big carcass.  Besides," he added, shoving the mage aside, "I'm better with a knife than you are."

                "Zoe's better at everything than you are," Mezzen piped up, then immediately hid behind Zoe's robes.  Dil'andau frowned at him and pointed the knife in much the same way as Zojikoe had done.

                "Shut up kid," he said flatly.  "You're not in on this conversation."  He turned back to continuing the job Zoe had been doing.  Zoe continued to stare at him suspiciously.

                "What is this about, Dil'andau?"  He demanded.  "Why are you being so nice?"  Dil'andau felt a twinge of the same irritation Rose had felt with him upon his suspicion of her motives.

                "What?"  He demanded.  "I can't be nice once in a while?"

                "No," Zoe said flatly.  "You're not nice.  If you were, my sister wouldn't even spare you a second glance let alone . . . you know, so why are you pretending you are?  If you're looking to get even more on her good side, being nice to me isn't going to help that at all so you might as well stop it.  You're scaring the kid."

                "I'm not afraid," Mezzen insisted, but stayed behind Zoe's robe.

                "I'll change that next lesson," Dil'andau promised grimly.  "And as for getting on Ka's good side, I don't need to, I already am.  At least . . . I _think_ I am.  Hard to tell with her."

                "Tell me about it," Zoe grumbled, shooting his sister a hooded glare.

                "There _is_ something, though, that I'm wondering about . . ."  Zoe watched him warily, with the same look he usually reserved for Slayer.  "Why is it that you and Rose haven't –"  He cut himself off when he saw Mezzen's eyes glittering brightly at him from the folds of Zoe's robes.  He frowned and looked up at Zoe.

                "Get rid of the kid," he said flatly.  "It's time you and I had a man to man talk, and the kid's not part of it."  Zoe frowned, having already guessed the purpose of Dil'andau's 'help.'  If he was right then Mezzen might be the only protection he had.

                "No," he said.  "I promised to show Mezzen how to –"

                "Mezzen!"  Rose called from where she was.  "Come here!  Ka and I need to speak with you."

                "Coming!"  Mezzen called.  He shot Zoe an apologetic look, Dil a frown, and then bolted over to Rose, climbing into her lap like he owned it.

                "See," Dil'andau said as they watched him go, "the problem, as I see it, is that the kid spends more time there, than you do."  Zojikoe glared at him.

                "I hardly see it as a problem at all, let alone one of yours," he said stiffly.  "If you've come to gloat over the conquest of my sister, then gloat and be done with it, but leave Rose and I out of it."  Dil'andau snorted.

                "It was hardly a conquest," he said.  "First off, it was her idea.  Like I was going to say no.  Second off, I wouldn't gloat about that.  What I _would_ gloat about is the fact that she and I went that far, conquest or no, and you and Rose still haven't.  What I _would gloat about is the fact that you're a pansy ass mage who's probably never even seen a female without her robes, let alone _done_ anything with one naked."_

                "I had a bath with Rose," Zoe offered as a weak defense, feeling heat rise up in his cheeks.  Dil narrowed his eyes.

                "No you didn't," he said flatly.  "You stood knee deep in water with her and the kid and didn't do anything about it.  You probably didn't even wash did you?  No.  You probably got so choked up at the sight of a female with no clothes on you went stupid, brainiac or not.  Goddess!  Don't they teach you anything at mage school?"

                "I don't need to take this from you," Zoe hissed.  "I'm going over with Rose and Ka now."

                "Why?"  Dil'andau demanded.  "So you can sit beside her and do nothing about anything like you've been doing since you met her?  Dammit man!  What's wrong with you?!  Look," he said before Zoe could reply, "the fact of the matter is, there are a lot of things that I could gloat about.  A _lot_.  And normally, I would, but suddenly I find that I just can't."  Zoe frowned at this.  "Because you're just too pathetic to gloat over," Dil answered the unspoken question.  "If you were some kind of competition then it would be worth gloating over but you're not.  You're a skinny little wuss who probably wouldn't even know what to do with a girl who wanted him if he _could_ get a girl to want him."

                "The fact of the matter," Zoe said coldly, "is that what I do and don't do with _anyone_, least of all with Rose, is none of your business."

                "Have you even kissed her?"  Dil'andau demanded.  Zoe's dark look was all the answer he needed.  "Lloth man!  You're a disgrace!  I've seen you making your stupid, dopey, lovesick faces at her like some kind of surface Elf."  Zoe balked at the insult but Dil'andau continued relentlessly.  "Chicks don't go for that, man.  If she wanted a slave, she'd have one.  She has plenty at home.  Or did," he corrected himself, "back when she had a House.  And I suppose when we go back dear old Mumsy will be forced to adopt _her too, and then she'll have plenty of slaves again.  If all you're going to be is a slave to her, you're going to stop being special the instant we get back home and she has a million of them at her beck and call."_

                Despite the amount his words stung, Zojikoe was impressed with the logic behind his words.  They almost sounded too smart for Dil.  Then again, the two things the man spent most of his time thinking about were weapons, and females, so he supposed some kind of expertise should be expected.

                "So what, exactly, do you suggest I do about it?!"  He demanded shrilly, then lowered his voice when the girls looked at him in surprise.  "Just walk up to her and rape her?!  'Cause that'll go over well.  She'll turn me into a drider and that'll be that."

                "Bah," Dil'andau said.  "Amateur.  Rape's no fun."  The tone of his voice suggested some kind of previous experience that Zoe didn't want to think much about.  "And besides, I'm pretty sure she'd have an easier time doing that to you.  No, Zojikoe, what you need to do is submit yourself to my teaching."

                "Absolutely not," Zoe said with a frown.  "You couldn't teach a stick to float.  And I'm _not_ going to trust you on this one.  Stick to teaching Mezzen to fight."  He turned to walk away.

                "You know," Dil'andau called after him, "fighting's not a whole lot different than loving.  Stick to your own ways if you like, but they haven't gotten you much farther than a pat on the head and a 'Good boy.'  If you come to your senses and decide to be a man, you know where to come."  Zoe threw him a rude gesture that only made Dil'andau grin.

                He'd be back.

                They always came back. 

*** 

                Zojikoe paced agitatedly at his turn on watch.  Normally Ka stayed up most of the night, seeing as she didn't sleep anyway, but tonight she'd been worn out from establishing the mental link between Mezzen and his previous master (a taxing action considering the distance and the fact that she had had to act as a go between for a bit) and had wanted to sleep.  Zoe, not feeling at all like sleeping since his talk with Dil'andau, had volunteered for the watch.

                Not that he was watching much except Rose.

                His eyes kept stealing back to the priestess' sleeping form of their own accord.  Mezzen was wrapped tightly in her arms, though the boy didn't appear to be sleeping either.  He was staring up at the ceiling with the vacant look that Ka usually had when exercising her mind powers.  Having an animated conversation with his previous master no doubt about everything he'd done since he'd left home.  Rose, on the other hand, was dead to the world; eyes closed, chest rising and falling rhythmically, every now and then stirring from the events of a dream world beyond him.

                He couldn't quite manage to get the image of her without clothes out of his head.  It was very distracting.  He almost wished he'd never seen her that way.

                Almost . . . but not quite.

                He thought about what Dil'andau had said to him.  That as soon as they got back to civilization (_Drow civilization) she'd stop needing him.  And as soon as she stopped needing him her interest in him would begin to dwindle.  He didn't want that to happen.  He _liked_ being needed.  He liked Rose.  He _really_ liked being needed by Rose._

                But when they got back home?  She wouldn't need him anymore.  Not in the slightest.  She almost didn't need him now, and he was pretty sure that she might just be pretending half the time she did need him for his sake.  But who cared.  He still liked her (a lot), and he kind of suspected she might sort of like him.  But . . . how long would that last when they got back home.  Back to a world full of bigger, stronger, better-looking males.  Where she could have her pick.  Out here it was just him and Dil'andau, and he had a strong feeling she'd die before she'd pick Dil'andau.

                Which made the fighter right about one thing . . . 

                If he wanted Rose to continue liking him, then he would have to do _something to take their relationship past the comfortable zone it was in.  He wasn't entirely sure he could handle that, but it was better than losing her entirely._

                But how?

                "Why don't you just stop staring at her," asked a dull voice from his side, "and admit you need my help?"  Zoe whipped around, his denials already on his lips but he couldn't force them out.  He stared at Dil'andau, who met him with the most neutral gaze he could muster (which still somehow managed to be insufferably superior and condescending), and then hung his head.

                "Fine," he said quietly.  "You've got one chance to make this happen.  But only one!"

                "One's all I need," Dil'andau said with a grin, then rolled over.  "We'll start tomorrow."  Zojikoe stared at the fighter's back for a moment, horrified at himself for going so far below his standards it hurt physically, then shook his head and gave up on it.

                If losing his dignity was what it took to get Rose, then so be it.

                He moved back over to his pack and flipped through it, looking for his spell book.  Might as well do something useful and re-memorize the spell he'd used on the bird.  He had a long watch ahead of him and it was complicated enough to fill up the time.  He found the book his was looking for, flipped it open, and was surprised when it fell open on the exact page he wanted.

                His heart sank when he realized why, however.

                Someone had colored all over the page, obscuring the important, high-level spell underneath.  In the picture was a bunch of stick figures (one with a spider on its head which was probably Rose, holding the hand of the smallest stick figure with the happy grin which was probably Mezzen, who was also holding the hand of the stick figure with triangle robes which was most likely Zoe.  Crammed into the corner was two other, nondescript figures with nothing to identify them as Ka and Dil save the angry face drawn on the one that was probably Ka, and the fact that the other was savagely scribbled over in a violent shade of orange.  Out of the side of the scribble was thrust a stick hand, holding what looked suspiciously like Dil'andau's own stick).  Zoe stared at the picture in horror.  His spell!  His precious spell!  He heard a sound in front of him and looked up, meeting Mezzen's bright smile.

                "Do you like it?"  He asked.  "I drew it for you!"  He frowned.  "I scribbled out Dil'andau 'cause he's mean.  I almost scribbled out Ka, too, but she was nice to me once, so I figured she could stay for now.  If she's mean to me again though, I'll scribble her out too."  He looked at Zoe, waiting for some kind of praise or criticism.  Zojikoe met his hopeful, trusting eyes and swallowed thickly.

                "It's . . . I love it," he said, trying to keep his dismay out of his voice as he stared down at the mess that had been his spell.  "It's . . . beautiful . . ."

                "Really?!"  Mezzen asked brightly.  "Great!  I drew other ones too!  In your other books!"  Zoe whimpered softly and pressed his hand to his temple.

                It was going to be one of those nights.


	19. Episode 19

EPISODE 19 

                "Right,"  Ka declared, plopping down beside Rose, who sat cross-legged, tickling Mezzen in her lap with the feather Zoe had given him the night before, "so after staring at this thing for over three hours, I've come to the conclusion that it says 'Uwargs'."  She nodded perfunctorily at the stained map in her hands and looked over at Rose.  The priestess continued to play with the boy and didn't return her glance.

                "'Uwargs', eh?"  Rose echoed flatly as Mezzen giggled and writhed in her lap.  "I don't know whether to thank you for spending your time truing to read the smudged words on the map or knock myself over the head with something just so I can forget what you just said."  She sighed heavily and finally shot Ka a dire look.  "Give me _that_."  She grumbled and snatched the wrinkled map from Ka's hands, gingerly crumpling it up in her fist and tossing it over her shoulder.  Ka gasped and dove for the map.

                "So maybe it's a silent 'U' or something!"  The psion cried desperately, recovering the map just as it tumbled towards the water's edge. 

                Back on Zoe's bedroll, Dil and the mage chatted away quietly, making a tremendous effort to keep their voices low and their tempers cool.  The warrior had snatched Zojikoe up as soon as he'd opened his eyes that morning and had eagerly begun his 'relationship training' – lest, Dil warned, Rose suddenly decide that Zoe's courting time was up and that she would go for females instead.

                "…and chicks _love_ attitude."  Dil added, grinning.  Zoe opened his mouth to comment, but Dil cut him off with a sweep of his hand.  "Shut up.  No, really…they _do_.  They see it as a challenge, and that's a lot of fun for them.  You know, helps 'em get their mind off of all that backstabbing, spin-doctoring and floor-licking they do in the chapels."  Dil was _so_ into it, it hurt to watch.  Zoe made a face and wondered if agreeing to let Dil counsel him was a wise choice. 

                "I'd like to point out that your entire house hates you because you give them attitude.  I'm sure your mother loved it.  I'm sure your sisters loved it.  I'm sure your old school masters loved it too."  He glanced over at Rose and Mezzen.  "I'm sorry, but I just don't think that being contrary, disagreeable and flippant is going to get Rose to jump me."  He raised an eyebrow at Dil'andau.

                "The opposite hasn't gotten you much either, has it?"  Dil quipped, mimicking Zoe's expression.  "Just _try _it, man!  You've got nothing to lose and it can't get any worse than it is now."  He nodded slowly, an ineffective tactic that would usually work on him to get him to agree to something, but that wasn't working at all with Zoe at that very moment.  Zoe narrowed his eyes. 

                "Damn right it can…"  He grumbled under his breath, imagining what it would be like if Rose snubbed him entirely, taking with her his adoptive son and only source of pride.  Thing could be _a lot_ worse than they were now.  Rose could take offense and lose all the respect she has for him – _if_, that is, she has any to begin with.  Which Zoe was more or less sure she did.  She could trash talk him to Mezzen.  And then go for his sister.  

                Zoe cringed internally.  

                So maybe he _could_ spare a bit of attitude and see what it'll do.  Maybe the problem was that he was being to soft and pliable, to lenient.  Maybe he was too easy a catch for Rose and she would prefer a more enticing hunt…

                "I'll see what I can–"  Zojikoe started to agree, only to be cut off by Dil, who'd thought up yet another masterful piece of advice to add to his already abundant panoply of questionable snippets.  Since the morning, Dil had suggested that he use bawdy comments, stare a lot, be contrary at every possible occasion, show off, be insolent, play hard to get, brag about stuff, and get insufferably possessive.

                "Oh!"  The warrior went on, his eyes shining with the false pride of a mentor teaching a student.  "And if worse comes to worst, just rape her."  He grinned widely and winked.  "That _always_ gets your point across."  He was oblivious to the balking expression on Zojikoe's visage.

                "I'm going to ignore that, Dil'andau."  Zojikoe fumed, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning so deeply his eyebrows touched.  "Just get away from me."  He hissed and shot an arm out, pointing.  "Get.  I've heard enough to last me a lifetime."  He watched Dil'andau get up and leave, willing the other night's death spell to spontaneously return to his memory.  It didn't.  The warrior moved towards the females and Zojikoe felt a sudden tightening in his middle.  "And stay away from my sister!"  He called out to Dil, the last word cracking along with his strained voice.  Up ahead, Dil'andau cackled. 

                "I'm going for my halberd!"  He retorted and pointed at where Ka sat with a confused look, Dil's weapon in her lap and a seriously mangled map in her hands.  "And it seems your sister comes with it, so shut up, leave me be, and think about what I told you!"  He looked over his shoulder and winked slyly at Zoe before taking a seat with Ka.

                And so Zoe thought (about killing Dil'andau first, but _then_ about what the maggot had said earlier).  He sighed and rested a long hand on his upraised knee, then pried his gaze from where his sister and her boy-toy sat entwined and staring at what appeared to be their map (though Dil was most obviously not looking at the map, nor probably, Zoe guessed, even _seeing _the map).  He looked instead to where Rose sat with Mezzen, the boy laying on his back and the priestess hovering above him, holding the 'Uwaa' bird feather over his face and letting it flutter down to his nose.  He could watch her lips move and read them though he could only hear the murmur of her voice; she was telling the boy stories about how all drow were orphans adopted by Lloth, much like Mezzen was adopted by her.  The boy giggled and listened, understanding the moral of the tale or not, Zoe couldn't tell.  It didn't matter.

                There was no way in hell he was going to lose Rose's favor – imagined or not.

                "Okay!"  The mage cried, bouncing to his feet suddenly and wiping off his hands.  "Give me the map, Ka.  We're heading out before we all get too lazy and spend the day loitering around here like homeless cave junkies."  He held out his hand expectantly.  

                "We _are_ homeless, champ."  Ka called out to him in reply, disentangling herself from Dil and getting to her feet.  Her brother opened his mouth to retort, but she strode up to him and smacked the map into his hand with a smile.  "And that includes you.  Remember…"  She teased, rocking back on her heels as the other group members got to their feet behind her, "…you snuck out to follow me, and mother dear won't find that charming should you decide to show your face back home…"  She watched as her brother's gaze shifted to the side, momentary realization flickering across his eyes and causing him a small stab of pain.  Ka smiled lightly and, as a gesture of understanding, patted his arm; indignant, her brother swatted it away and whirled around, starting off down the tunnel ahead of them.

                "Wow…"  Ka cooed, blinking at her sibling's back, "…_someone's_ moody."  She shook her head as Dil'andau came up beside her and started them off along the way.  The warrior was grinning.

                "Yeah.  No sex'll do that to a guy.."  He mused, nodding to himself.  Ka looked over at him and tried to figure out what on earth he was talking about, then let it go and sighed heavily.  Alarmed, Dil looked over at her, eyebrows arched.  "Shit!  Whatd'I say?"  He stuttered nervously.  Ka shoved him ahead.

                "Just keep walking."  She grumbled idly.  Mumbling something unpleasant, Rose jogged swiftly by with Mezzen and Slayer hot on her heels.

                "Zoe!"  The priestess called to the mage as she hurried to catch up with him at the lead of the group.  "Zoe, wait!"  She growled when he didn't stop to wait for her and picked up the pace until she fell into step at his side.  Roughly, she shoved his arm and turned a glare up at him.  "What's the matter with you?!  You in a hurry to get _nowhere_?"  She exhaled loudly and narrowed her eyes.  Zoe smirked maliciously. 

                "Just wanted to see if you could run in those robes."  He smiled, proud of his 'mean' comeback.  If he was going to try Dil'andau's attitude strategy, then now was as good a time as any.  Rose raised an eyebrow and tugged on his thick sleeve. 

                "You've got robes on too, Zojikoe."  She replied dryly, and Zoe looked sorely displeased for a moment or two.  "Now why'd you not wait for me?"  She asked again.  The mage shrugged.

                "Felt like it."  He answered simply and looked over at her with an expression so cocky he almost felt like kicking _himself_ in the teeth for using.  "Got a problem with that, _matron_?"  He added insolently.  It hurt him the minute he said it and he quickly realized that he would never forgive himself for saying it either.  He wanted to wipe the smirk off his face and take back what he'd just said (especially the _tone_…), but if there was the _slightest_ chance that his new attitude would give his and Rose's relationship the extra notch it needed, than it was more than worth the present pain. 

                "What?"  Rose snapped, blinking only once.  Her lips had never been so tightly pursed.  Zojikoe fought with everything he had not to break down and excuse himself.  Instead, he came out with the first thing that popped into his mind. 

                "Don't like attitude, do you?"  He asked; it was half a reproach and half a serious question.  He couldn't really decide which he wanted it to be.  Rose made a face. 

                "No."  She said just as sharply as before.  Her eyes studied Zoe's closely, trying to see what was going on with him.  Did he not sleep well?  Was it the drawings in his spell books?

                "Uh – good!"  Zojikoe replied promptly, nodding once.  He decided that if attitude was good, then her not liking it was good too.  He rolled his eyes and wondered how long it would take for this strategy to start working – if, that is, Dil hadn't talked him into something utterly pointless.  But then again…it had worked with his sister…but she was a a strange one and Rose was nothing like her at heart…right?  

                "Whatever happened to good old gifts and compliments?"  Zoe mourned under his breath.  Beside him, Rose was still alert.

                "What was that?"  She asked at the sound of his voice.  When he looked over at her and shook his head, she frowned.  "Is this about the drawings in your spell books, Zojikoe?"  She asked sternly.  "Because Mezzen didn't have _any_ clue what he was doing when he went in your things…"  She started then trailed off when the corner of Zoe's mouth curled.

                "No…"  The mage answered dreamily.  He was still angry at having lost the high-level spell his school master had specially given him (and the impressive host of other, less important ones) , but he couldn't hate Mezzen for it either.  The drawings had been made in an innocent mindset, and the Gods knew that the things were unbelievably amusing to look at…

                Realizing that he was zoning out, Zoe cleared his throat.  Attitude was getting him nowhere…it was time to try something new.  "You know, I was top ranked in my class back at Sorcere."  He tried, puffing out his chest to add to the statement.

                "I bet all the other people looked up to you!"  Mezzen chimed in, startling both Rose and Zoe in their mental calculations.  The boy was riding on Slayer again, and the cat's eyes drooped sleepily as it plodded on.  Zojikoe swallowed thickly. 

                "Oh yeah!  You bet they did, Mezzen!"  He glanced over at Rose, who's mouth was now a small 'o' of confusion.  "I had the best marks, and the best books and the best components…and I was the fastest learner too."  He fished around for more things to brag about (whether truthful or not).

                "They looked up _at_ you because you're tall, _champ_."  Rose drawled, unimpressed by the display.  Something was obviously going on here.  She looked suspiciously over her shoulder at Dil'andau and Ka, who trudged along a dozen paces behind them; the pair was engaged in a heated conversation about steamed crab legs.  Surely _they_ couldn't have gotten to Zoe…

                Zojikoe peered over at Rose out of the corner of his eye; he never imagined how much it would hurt to be called champ by Rose.  It hurt.  He silently cursed Dil'andau for his self-destructive advice.  With a final burst of willpower, he spoke again.  "Well at _least_ they don't look _down_ at me because I ran away from my _house_!"  He retorted.  It made little sense to him, why saying things like that would made someone want to be nice to you, but he did it anyway – out of faith.

                "Zoe!"  Rose cried, shocked and appalled.  She gawked up at him for a while, expecting him to excuse himself or say something to patch his comment up with, but he did neither.  In fact, he didn't even look at her.  In a huff, she tore the map from his hands and stalked off up ahead, her cat and its rider in tow.

                In the middle now, Zojikoe watched Rose's retreating back.  Mezzen looked back at him and cocked his head, visibly confused by his behavior.  But of course he _would_ be…I mean, acting the way he was was like having _two_ Dil'andaus in the group.  Zoe shuddered.  

                "If I wasn't her brother, Ka'd be all over me by now."  The mage grumbled to himself, staring ahead like a zombie.  Maybe it was his imagination, but he had the distinct feeling that Rose wasn't liking him any more than she did before.  In fact, he was pretty sure she liked him less.  But…that was good, right?  Right?  Any time now there should be a magnetic reaction of sorts that'd pull the priestess right back into his arms…shouldn't there?  Wasn't that the theory?

                Staring at Rose's retreating back, Zoe wondered.

***

                The day went on for what seemed like weeks to Zoe.  When they stopped for a midday meal, Dil'andau had taken Zoe aside and scolded him for letting himself hang back when Rose got irritated with him.  He coached him to keep getting in her face, and Zoe did – until he tried to show off by casting a particularly showy illusion that sent Mezzen into another of his hyperventilation fits and got Rose so angry she screamed at him and nearly passed herself out doing it.  It was at this point that Zojikoe decided to never listen to Dil's advice again.  

                Ever.

                The mage had spent the whole of the day alone; traveling alone, eating alone, talking alone (which he did, rambling about living life as a drider).  Rose would have nothing to do with him and she ushered Mezzen away from 'his bitchiness' as soon as he came within reach with a question or two to ask.  Alone and confused now, Zoe didn't know what to do about his situation.  He had spouted enough insults at Rose since that morning to have her never want to see his face again, and had glorified himself more than the kid in his class that had always had higher marks than him (he remembered the rat-faced male of House Freth sourly).  He considered, then, apologizing to Rose and asking for her forgiveness, but he doubted she'd buy into that.  He considered telling her all about Dil'andau and what it was that he was doing and quickly put that notion away, positive that the priestess would think it a cheap excuse for a streak of ill-attended bad attitude caused by a bad day or unfavorable circumstances (such as colored-in spell books, stained maps, twisted sisters and relational discomfort).  So what was he to do?

                When in doubt, sulk.  

                And he did.

                Late during the evening of that very day, when the group set up camp for the night, Zoe found a small outcropping of polished rock and sat there, his nose in a book.  To the untrained eye, one would think him reading, but to anyone who took two seconds to observe, it was painfully clear that the mage was just sulking.  You see, the book was upside down.

                Further over, Mezzen helped Rose unroll her blankets.  Once laid, he immediately jumped atop them and frowned up at Rose.  "I wanna talk to Zoe."  The boy said with a pout; his small fingers twitched around the huge bird feather that Rose has fastened to a leather lace and tied around his neck.

                The priestess sighed.  Mezzen had been asking to speak to Zoe for nearly the whole day, and she would have let him had she not been so afraid that Zoe would say something to the boy that'd hurt him.  She didn't quite understand what Zojikoe's problem was, or why it happened so suddenly, but whatever it was it was making him unbearable.  

                "I know, Mezzen."  Rose answered gently, pulling the boy into her lap.  "But not right now, okay?  Zoe's not in a very good mood today."  She laid her cheek on the top of Mezzen's head and stared in Zojikoe's direction.  The mage's face was hidden by a large book.  A book that was upside down.  Rose frowned.  What happened?  Was it something she said?  Was it something she did?  Maybe she should have ended the bath she and Zoe had with Mezzen when she saw that the mage was clearly uncomfortable…

                Opposite Zojikoe and the same distance away, Ka and Dil'andau fought over the warrior's halberd.  The little psion held the thing with both hands and tried her best to switch her grip on it rapidly as Dil tried to wrench and twist it from her grip.  They were crying random inanities at each other as they did it, until Ka won out and pulled the weapon free of Dil's grip, then heaved it over her head and cried out in triumph.  She bolted for the water a soon as Dil tried to get it back.  The random inanities continued at that point, intermingled with giggles, as they continued their fight waist-deep in water.

                Rose ignored their infantile glee and hummed softly to drown out their shouts.  Zoe had said many, many stupidities that day and it reminded her of the shouts she heard from Dil'andau as she hummed.  It was like the mage couldn't decide what he wanted to do; impress her or repel her.  It didn't make any sense…rather like a schoolboy.  

                "Oh yeah?!"  Came a loud cry from the water; it was Dil'andau.  "What are you gonna _do_ about it, _loser_?"  There was a loud thump here, accompanied by the splash of water and a decidedly female giggle.

                Rose narrowed her eyes at the shout and exhaled so hard that Mezzen's hair ruffled beneath her nose.  Dil's attitude was the same as the one Zojikoe had given her that morning, and this was alarming.  She looked over her shoulder at the two drow in the water and stared for a moment.  Could Dil'andau have spoken to Zojikoe?  If she wasn't mistaken, the two had congregated at lunch and early that morning…  Could Dil have said something about her to Zoe that would have set the mage against her?  It was to be expected, but…was Dil even that clever?  She didn't think so.  But this definitely had _something_ to do with the rogue drow…

                "Rose?"  Mezzen piped up, craning around to look at the drowess.  Rose turned around and smiled down at the boy.  Mezzen smiled back.  "Can I make more pictures?  I have ideas in my head."  He gave Rose an expectant look and started to climb off of her lap even before she answered.

                "Oh…sure."  Rose answered, aware that she should have said no, but that it was petty revenge for the awful day Zoe had dealt her.  She got to her feet and moved over to where Zojikoe's pack lay.  "Come here, I'll help you with Zoe's books."  She waved the boy near and he hurried over.

                Deftly, she rummaged around in Zoe's pack and pulled out two books that she set down on her lap.  She flipped through them both and found the one with the most drawings in it and put the other one aside; no point ruining the book that had the most chance of surviving Mezzen's artistic inspirations, now was there?

                "Here you go."  Rose said and handed the large tome over to Mezzen, who scooped it up into his arms and teetered back with the added weight.  "I'll get you some pens…"  She added and dove her hand back into the backpack, reaching down to the bottom of it in search of some kind of writing tool.  Her fingers slid along two slender cylinders that could be pencils, but as she snatched the duo up, her knuckles ran across what felt like a blade.  The short, sharp pain went away almost as soon as it came and she pulled her hand from the pack.  Her knuckles were bleeding. 

                "Here."  She said quickly, handing Mezzen the pens with her unwounded hand and keeping the other one well hidden from the boy's view.  "Go and draw on my blankets, alright?"  She said.  "I'll be there soon.  I just have to put Zoe's things away here first."  She turned away from the boy and heard him scamper off, mumbling to himself about what he'd draw.  She could have sworn she heard the word 'bird', though.

                "Lloth!"  She swore quietly and pressed her bloodied hand against her robes.  Curious now, she opened up Zojikoe's pack once more and cautiously slipped her hand into it to retrieve what had cut her.  She pulled out a delicately-shaped dagger with a hilt sporting a carved rose.   She drew in a breath and her eyebrows arched.

                "That's not fair!  No!  _No!_  _Stop it!!!_"  The scream startled everyone, but no one made a move.  It had come from Dil'andau and thus didn't concern anyone but Ka.

                Rose swallowed thickly and turned the beautiful blade around in her hands.  Unless all of Dil's jokes about Zoe being gay were true (and Rose knew they weren't), than there was no way that this dagger was Zoe's.  Confused, she looked over in the mage's direction.  The upside down book was no longer in front of his face and he was staring back at her with the look of a trapped animal.  She smiled and got to her feet, crossed the distance between them and sat down beside him.

                "I–"  Zoe stuttered, pointing to the dagger in Rose's hands.  "I made that for you."  He smiled weakly, as if in apology.  "When I was in the illithid city."  He added as an afterthought.  He caught Rose's gaze and, feeling suddenly as if under inspection, blurted as much out as was possible.  "I was losing my mind and then Mezzen showed up and reminded me of who I was and then he told me I had to keep my mind on something to stay sane and so I decided to make something for you once Mezzen reminded me of you and so I made that dagger.  Like it?  I thought it was pretty good actually…ha…yeah so I didn't give it to you because I didn't know how or when to do it and I didn't know whether you liked me like that or not and I didn't want to look like a stupid moron so I kept it to myself and then yesterday when I was cutting up the bird Dil'andau came over and gloated about having sex with my sister and I got pissed off at him and he made fun of me for not having slept with you yet and he said he could help me out with that and I agreed to take his advice and it was _very_ stupid and now I'm pretty sure you hate me."  He took a long breath, chest heaving, and looked around nervously.  Rose took a moment to sort all that out and then cocked her head to the side. 

                "Dil'andau told you to be mean to me?"  She asked, unsure if she understood well.  "You asked _Dil'andau_ for help on how to get me to sleep with you?"  She pressed. Zoe swallowed and shifted, unsure whether the tone was uncertain or threatening. 

                "Yes."  He squeaked.   Well, this was it; he was either going to lose Rose here or know what he'd wanted to know for a good while.   Rose shook her head at Zoe for a good while before slapping the back of his head. 

                "I can't believe you did that!"  She choked, trying to keep her voice down.  "Stupid, stupid males!  Both of you!"  She sighed and closed her eyes, then looked down at the dagger in her hands.  Zoe smirked.  

                "I even put a rose there, see?"  He said, ignoring the previous comment.  He was quite happy he wasn't standing, as his knees wouldn't have held him.  Rose shook her head a bit more and finally a smile crossed her face. 

                "I see."  She said at last and looked up at Zoe.  She put the blade down and kissed him soundly on the lips.  "It's lovely, Zoe.  Thank you."  She finished once they had parted.  Zoe cleared his throat, his eyes searched out Rose's. 

                "So…"  He asked innocently, letting the question hang.  He smiled hopefully.  Rose laughed.

                "Yes, yes."  She assured him and he preened.  "Just help me find a way to distract Mezzen…"  She glanced over her shoulder at the boy, who was scribbling viciously in Zoe's book, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.  Zoe's jaw dropped. 

                "Is that my book?"  He peeped.  Rose shifted.


	20. Episode 20

EPISODE 20 

****

****

"_Uuwa?"  The ridiculous looking bird cocked its head and peered at her through curious, sleepy eyes.  Kirisstind scowled at it, the expression making her already deformed face even more hideous.  She slashed at it in irritation with her sword.  It squawked and hobbled away, feathers flying from its wounded wing.  "__Uuwaa!"  It squawked, glaring at her as it hopped, flapping its wings in a pathetic imitation of flight.  "__Uuwaa!"  She leaned down and picked up a rock, chucking it at the bird as hard as she could and pegging it in the head.  It's head rolled back and it staggered to the side, still hopping and flapping and _Uuwa_ing in a loud voice.  More feathers fell._

                "RUN you stupid thing!"  Kirisstind growled, throwing another rock.  This one it dodged and shot her a baleful look.

                "_UUWA!"  It screamed at her and then turned its tail and ran in a stupid looking bobbing motion._

                "Stupid thing," she growled.  This had been the worst trip of her life.  They were already a few days behind schedule.  Korgan would be expecting them by now, however if the illithid she'd been in contact with was correct the speed at which her sister and her party were traveling wasn't all that fast.  If they didn't hit any more delays (though she was starting to doubt that given the way their trip had been going so far.  First, she and her party had been jumped by some kind of vindictive octopus monster that apparently wanted to take petty revenge on them for the scars someone else had inflicted on him (stupid thing had been missing an eye, a couple tentacles and had scars all over it.  It had been almost as ugly as she was).  It had taken out two of her party of eight drow.  Then, not more than two days later they had run into Myconids.  Another Drow down.) they would be there soon.

                _At least the bird didn't try to eat us, she grumbled to herself as she watched it round the corner ahead of them.  _Goddess!  I'm going to make Rose _eat__ my blade for this.  But not until I pretty up her face the way she did mine.  She unconsciously ran a finger down the diagonal scar on her face, ignoring the sting that ran through it as they rounded the corner after the bird.  _I bet she and my new baby brother are just as cozy as can be with each other . . . we'll see how much he likes her after I ruin her.  Ha!  Serve her right . . .__

                "Uh . . . Mistress Kirisstind?"  Queried one of the mages of the party nervously.  She ignored him as she usually did.  Ignored her whole party as a matter of fact.  She wouldn't have even taken them, but Rose was supposed to have some kind of rag-tag band of freaks with her and she wanted to be prepared.  This time, however, the mage persisted.  "Mistress Kirisstind?"  He pulled on her sleeve hard enough to stop her short.  She whirled around to glare at him then realized that her whole party was staring upwards with wide eyes.  She slowly became aware of a soft, yet persistent sound: ruffling feathers.  She followed the gaze of her party and her eyes widened when she realized what they'd stepped into.

                All around them on their nests built into the wall was at least a hundred of the stupid birds like the one she'd thrown a rock at.  That one in particular was right in front of them.  It glared at her as it hopped back and forth.

                "_Uuuuuwwwaaaaa!"  It shrieked.  It's call was answered by it's rather large family.  There was a flurry of feathers and the birds leapt out of their nests._

                "RUN!"  Kirisstind shrieked, racing for the other end of the nest as the birds descended in a flurry of colored feathers, and a cacophony of _Uuwa_s.

                Behind her the mage who'd pulled her sleeve screamed in pain and fell to the ground as the birds caught him.

                Perhaps they'd be later than she'd at first thought . . . 

***

                "Mmmmm . . ."  Zoe murmured unhappily at the draft that suddenly found his naked body.  He rolled over and opened his eyes sleepily, expecting to see Rose's pretty white hair where it had been last night when he'd fallen asleep with her in his arms (not unlike the way Mezzen had slept in hers) after what had probably been the best night of his entire life (and he almost dared to hope that there would be more like it).

                The hair he saw wasn't white, however, it was black.  And it was braided in multiple strands kept together with gold bands.  And those braids weren't attached to the top of her head, but to her face, right under her mouth (which was no longer full and almost pouty, but thin and grinning nastily showing missing teeth).  Above her mouth was a mustache as thick as the beard and above the mustache a bulbous nose that had no place on Rose's face.  Still, in his sleepy state, it didn't quite register that this wasn't Rose until his eyes met the eyes staring out from what was obviously not her face.  They were small and beady and black.

                "Mornin' sweetheart," the thing-which-was-not-Rose said in thickly accented Drow.  Zoe screamed and bolted to a sitting position as the thing (and all the buddies the thing had with it) laughed raucously.  He backed up and immediately struck something hard.  He turned around and looked up into the grinning face of yet another thing (the word duergar sprang instantly to mind as sleep bled from his brain and body and he came fully awake).  He screamed again and tried to move but this one caught him and threw him roughly back onto his blankets.  The mage reacted almost instantly, snapped into action by the pain that swam up from his back.  He called to mind the first spell he thought of and started to chant, but a hand cuffed him roughly on the back of his head and ruined his concentration.  A disgusting tasting cloth descended on him from out of nowhere and was pulled roughly into his mouth, cutting off his ability to speak.  He choked on it as it was tied behind his head by the first dwarf as another grabbed his hands before he could fight and bound them tightly.

                "Well, well, well," said the first dwarf.  "A wizard!  A mageling!  A bag-of-tricks!"  He laughed harshly.  "Should've known.  Yer too scrawny to be a fighter!"  He poked Zojikoe roughly in the ribs.  Zojikoe winced in pain.  That would leave a bruise.  The dwarf shoved him roughly.  "Put him with the others."  Two other dwarves grabbed him under the armpits and hauled him up, shoving him forward.  He cast a frantic look around the trashed camp, but all of the others were gone.  It took him a moment to spot them.  Dil'andau was tied up against the wall of the cave, looking disgruntled (yet somehow amused.  Zoe had no doubt that the fighter had seen the whole scene with the duergar).  Heaped beside him was a pile of unconscious females, Ka on top of Rose.  Slayer and Mezzen were nowhere to be seen.  He blinked.  Where was the boy and the cat?

                His answer came in the form of a small, wordless shriek as Mezzen came bolting out of nowhere, running around the duergar and dropping beside his new mother.  Zoe winced.  The boy must have wandered off and been playing.  Why did he have to come back now?!  Mezzen shoved futilely at Ka, trying to separate her and Rose, and when that failed he whirled around, glaring at the stunned dwarves.

                "What did you do to her?!"  He demanded, then spotted Zojikoe, gagged and bound (and naked) and his eyes widened.  "Zoe!"  He gasped, then darted forward before anyone could stop him and launched a low kick at the shins of one of the dwarves herding Zoe towards the rest of the drow.  The dwarf howled in pain and clutched his shin as the other shoved Zoe forward.  The mage stumbled over to fall on the other side of Rose and Ka.  Mezzen moved as though to do some more damage but the dwarf put his wounded leg down and moved to draw his weapon with a threatening growl.  Mezzen stumbled back, tripping over a rock and falling backwards right in front of Dil'andau.  The dwarf drew its weapon and swung it down at Mezzen, but Dil'andau reacted instantly, his foot snaking out and hooking around Mezzen's waist, pulling the boy back just in time.  The boy might be a pain, but he was Drow, and these things weren't, and that counted for something as far as Dil'andau was concerned.  The dwarf moved to attack again, but before he could do anything a growl deeper than his own echoed through the small camp and a blur of black fur struck him from behind, sending him sprawling onto his face.  Slayer leapt off of him and stood in front of his mistress and her friends, the hair on his back raised as he snarled at the dwarves.  The other duergar snapped out of their surprised dazes and two of them raised crossbows, but the leader stopped them with a hand as Slayer growled at them.

                "Ye all know Korgan's orders," he said.  "We're to extend our greetings and take 'em alive.  The _whole_ group.  The way that fur ball's acting, I'll jes assume he's part o' the group.  If anyone else cares t' argue different, then feel free t' shoot the blasted thing, but ye'll be the one to tell Korgan when we gets back."  The others shuffled their feet and lowered their weapons.

                "But . . . Shagbag . . . how're we supposed to take 'em anywhere with that thing waitin' to claw us up the moment we get close?"  Shagbag turned to Zoe.

                "You," he snapped.  "Calm that thing.  Do it now or orders or no', I'll shoot the big drow."  Zojikoe looked over at Dil'andau who glared at him.  

                "Go ahead, Champ," Dil'andau spat at him.  "You know you want to."  For a half an instant the mage considered it.  It's not like he'd miss the big doofus . . . Mezzen's terrified sniffling broke him out of it, however.  He couldn't let them shoot Dil'andau in front of him.  Poor kid had probably never seen much violence besides the far away, unreal stuff he saw that day at the gladiatorial arena, and the day-to-day fighting amidst the party itself.  He wasn't ready for that yet.  An besides . . . 

                Dil'andau _had_ saved Mezzen . . . 

                Zojikoe looked over at Slayer who continued to stand protectively in front of the group.  He hesitated for just a second – he still wasn't convinced Slayer liked him that much and part of him was convinced the panther would just turn around and eat him if he tried to discourage it in anyway – but then Shagbag's confederates raised their crossbows again and he forced himself to reach out and touch the panther's flanks with his bound hands.  The panther jumped and twisted its head around to face him, lips still pulled back in a snarl.  Zojikoe shrank back, but Mezzen moved forward, hugging Slayer's neck tightly.  At his touch the panther relaxed – slightly.

                "It's okay, Slayer," he sniffled into the cat's fur.  "Zoe won't let anything happen to us.  Zoe will show these mean things that they shouldn't have ever messed with us."  He sniffled again.  "He was the best in his class at Sorsari you know.  Right Zoe?"  The boy turned back to look at him and all Zoe could offer him was a weak nod.  Shagbag laughed.

                "And what would the bag-of-tricks show us?"  He demanded.  "He can't show us much more than his bare ass at the moment, now can 'e?"  He laughed again.  "Get them up!"  He called to his men.  "We're going home!"

***

                "Ye crackgnats!  Ye lant gulpin' dirtchutes!  Ye grog blossomed prick-me-dainties!"

                Shagbag and his crew shrank back under their leader's harsh shouts and no few of them had to dodge his fists as well.

                "Ye told us to extend our greetin'!"  Shagbag shouted over Korgan's shouts.  "How was we supposed to know you actually _meant it that way?!"_

                "I _told_ ye, Shagbag," Korgan growled.  He pointed at Rose.  "That's _obviously Kirisstind!"  Dil'andau, Mezzen and Zoe all blinked.  Mezzen and Dil'andau both opened their mouths to argue, but Zoe kicked Dil and shook his head furiously at Mezzen, shutting them both up.  "NOW UNTIE THEM YE LILLY-LIVERED DUNDERHEADS!"  They scrambled to do as he said, jumping over and untying Zojikoe and Dil'andau as another ran from the room for smelling salts to rouse Rose and Ka.  Zojikoe jumped when someone pulled on his ear.  He turned and leaned down._

                "What's a lant-gulpin' dirtchute?"  Mezzen whispered.

                "Never mind," Zoe replied quickly.  "And don't you dare repeat any of what he just said.  Ever.  And especially not to Rose.  In fact, plug your ears and keep them plugged until I say so."  He turned back around.  Mezzen stared at him in perplexity for a moment then shrugged and did as he was told.  Or tried to.  The next second Rose came awake with a start (thanks to the smelling salts) and he immediately pulled his fingers out of his ears and jumped her, hugging her fiercely.

                "You're okay!"  He wailed, bursting into spontaneous tears all over again.  "I thought you were dead!"  She hugged him groggily, stroking his hair.

                "I'm all right, Mezzen," she said, pushing herself to a sitting position with one hand.  "I think . . . What's happened?  Where are we?"  She blinked at Zojikoe.  "Why are you still naked?"

                "My apologies, Lady Kirisstind," Korgan said.  Rose jumped at the name and turned to face the dwarf.  "Me men . . . misunderstood my instructions.  I'm afraid ye received the greeting yer sister will be getting soon enough."  Rose's eyes widened for only and instant and then narrowed as understanding lit up her eyes.  Mezzen frowned in confusion.

                "She's not –"  Rose's hand clapped itself around his mouth.

                "I should hope you're sorry," she said flatly.  "And I also hope your men are suitably punished for their lapse."

                "Yer a bit later than we expected," Korgan said as Ka came around slowly.  "And with only half of yer party if my count's correct."  He blinked down at Mezzen who shrank back into Rose's arms.  "Plus one wee barrun."

                "What's a barrnon?"  Mezzen piped fearfully.  Korgan laughed.

                "A barrun, lad.  It means a baby."

                "I'm not a baby!"  Mezzen cried with a dark frown, moving out of the protective circle of Rose's arms just far enough to glare at Korgan.  "I'm –"  Again Rose's hand clamped over his mouth.  She handed the boy over to Zoe who took him and admonished him to be quiet.

                "My party is my concern and not yours," she said flatly.  "And that goes for my child as well.  Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to give back our things.  Including my mage's clothes.  Honestly, Korgan."

                "Yes, yes," Korgan said, gesturing.  Three dwarves ran off to the next room, returning a moment later with their packs and Zoe's clothes.  The mage took them gratefully and hurriedly put them on, somehow managing to jam his robe on backwards in the process.  Mezzen giggled at him, despite the situation, and Zojikoe blushed and hurried to fix it.

                "Now," Korgan said, "since you're here, I think it's high-time we discussed your little part in our bargain."  Rose frowned at him.

                "I'm sure there'll be time for that later," she said.  "I want a bath.  And I'm sure my compatriots could use a bit of time to freshen up.  If you don't mind, Korgan, I've got a splitting headache thanks to the hack-work of your men and I don't feel much like discussing anything until I've gotten rid of it."  Korgan met her steady gaze flatly.

                "I'll not be double-crossed, Elf," he said darkly, all traces of his previous congeniality gone.  "Ye'll hold to yer promise or I'll bury me axe in yer skull."

                "There'll be no double-cross, Dwarf," she replied just as darkly.  "But it changes nothing.  I'll discuss nothing now.  I need breakfast and a nap, and maybe then we can discuss my end of the deal."

                "At lunch then," Korgan said.  "Shagbag, Crazyface, and Screwloose here will show ye to where ye can stay then and they'll come and fetch you at lunch.  Then we'll discuss our . . . business."

                "Yes," Rose agreed.  "That sounds fine."

***

                "What the hell just happened?"  Ka demanded grumpily once the door was shut and they were sure the Dwarves were gone.  "One minute I was messing with Dil's head and the next I was unconscious, and the next after that I wake up and some ugly dwarf is calling you Kirisstind and you're making deals with him.  Explain!  Now!"

                "Well aren't we chipper this morning!"  Dil'andau said brightly.

                "Shut up or I'll tell everyone what you dreamt last night," Ka growled threateningly.  Dil'andau (who'd dreamt that Zojikoe was bigger than him, and had had a naked Rose in one arm and a naked Ka in the other (both of them all over him) and was picking on him really, really badly) instantly shut up and sulked.

                "If I knew, Ka, I'd explain," Rose said.  "But I don't.  That Korgan guy was apparently expecting Kirisstind to show up.  She must have made some kind of deal with him in order to get his help in getting at me and killing me, and probably Dil'andau too if she's been sent by her House."

                "What?"  Dil'andau cried.  "Why?!"  Rose stared at him.

                "Because I'm a rogue member of a destroyed House, Dil.  Your mother would probably just as soon see me dead as adopted, especially since she didn't exactly get a prize if I know Kirisstind well enough."

                "But why me?"  Dil'andau demanded.  "She wouldn't want me killed too."  Rose stared at him.  Ka laid her hand on Dil's arm.

                "Dil," she said, her voice oddly gentle, "why'd your mum send you after the Kyrashar Rose?"  He frowned down at her.

                "Because I was the only one in the House cut out for the job," he said.  "She wouldn't trust anyone else with it." 

                "Dil'andau . . ."  Rose started but Ka cut her off with a look.

                "Just . . . let it go for now, Rose," she said flatly.  "I'll deal with him later, or Kirisstind will.  One way or the other he'll find out."

                "Find out what?"  Dil'andau demanded.  "You still haven't –"  Ka kissed him quickly.  He blinked down at her.  "What was that for?"  He demanded.  "Why'd you do that?  Is that a hint?"  He frowned at her.  "Lloth, Ka.  We can't do that _here.  The kid'll see it, and then Rose will have a conniption fit.  You have no sense of time and place."  Ka stared at him, mouth agape for a moment._

                _Why?  Rain asked mentally.  __Why?  Why?  Why?  Why?  Why are you attracted to him?  Why?  Why?_

                _Go away, Ka snapped, then, "Shut up, Dil.  Just shut up."_

                "So what are we going to do?"  Zojikoe demanded.  "Keep playing along?"  He frowned.  "That's dangerous Rose.  We don't know what Kirisstind agreed to do in return.  What if it's something we can't deliver on?"

                "Then we run like scalded cats," Rose replied easily.  "But I think first we should at least see what he wants.  Maybe it won't be so bad, and if nothing else playing along for a bit would at least give us time to restock our supplies."

                "And sleeping on a real bed for a bit won't be so bad either," Ka grunted.  "I'm with Rose on this one."

                "I don't know . . ."  Zoe said doubtfully.

                "Hey, relax, champ," Dil'andau said.  "I'm with the ladies on this one.  This Korgan seems like a nice guy –" they all ignored that " – and I could definitely go for three square meals a day for a while.  Even if it's only a couple days."

                "What if he catches on?"  Zoe demanded, still doubtful.

                "Then I'll just make him forget he ever caught on," Ka answered easily.  "Piece of cake."  Rose nodded.

                "All we need to do is play along and lie low for a while," she answered.  "With any luck, maybe Korgan will catch Kirisstind, thinking she's me, and kill her for us.  Relax Zoe," she said, giving him her best smile.  "This'll work."  Zoe wished he could deny the sinking feeling in his gut, but he'd never been able to say no to that smile and it appeared as though nothing had changed.

                "All right," he said with a sigh.  "But if this blows up in our face, nobody had better accuse me of not warning you."  Silence descended for a moment as the group considered what they were about to try.

                "Um . . ."  Mezzen said, breaking the silence.  "I still don't know what a prick-me-dainty is . . ."


	21. Episode 21

EPISODE 21 

                The test to find out which one of the four drow was most likely to be susceptible to manipulation (in other words, a 'find-the-stupid-one' test) was a simple one.  Simple and demeaning.  _Together_.  Zoe, Ka, Rose (along with Mezzen, who clung to her like a burr – a burr with questions) and Dil were told to sit in a great hall and wait for an audience with the dwarf lord Korgan.  Meanwhile, a group of halfling entertainers were added to the room in order to do stupid tricks and keep the waiting drow from losing patience.  One of the halflings, however, came up with a game that he individually invited each drow to play whilst the others were busy watching the antics of the remaining entertainers.  

                This particular game was the test.

                What each drow was asked to do was roll a coin off his or her nose and land it on one of the pre-drawn targets etched on a piece of parchment.  The halfling would demonstrate the game first, rolling the coin off his own sharp little nose and dropping it onto the sheet of paper, landing the coin right smack over one of the circles that served as targets.  Now here's the interesting part.  Next, the halfling would invite the subject drow to try the same, re-explaining the procedure as he did.  During this redundant exposition, the halfling would take a pen and draw a _new_ target on the parchment, tracing around the same coin he'd run along the bridge of his nose.  

                To an unobservant person, there was no harm in this; to an cleverer individual, however, it wasn't so innocent.  You see, when the halfling drew the new target, his pen would coat the edges of the coin in ink as he traced its contour onto the parchment.  And so, when he handed the coin to the next person to try the game, the unfortunate person would paint a nice stripe down the bridge of their nose in trying their luck at hitting the marked targets.

                A childish, inane prank, yes.  But still an effective one.

                The halfling didn't even get the time to fully explain his game to Zojikoe before the mage vehemently turned him down and stormed off with a deep scowl.  Apparently, Zoe was a smart lad – either that, or the wizard had been the butt of a similar joke in the past.  Next to be tried was Rose.  She curiously watched the halfling do his trick, and was more than willing to try it herself; after all, the group had been standing idly in wait for nearly an hour, with nothing to watch but a bunch of midgets acting stupid.  The priestess would have fallen for the halfling's trick, one hundred percent, had she not caught sight of the ink coating the sides of the coin as the little creature redrew a new target.  When the soiled coin was offered to her, she made an indignant noise and slapped the halfling then stormed off (Mezzen giggled at this and was suddenly desperate to know how the halfling had come up with such a clever trick).  After Rose came Ka, who eagerly went to the halfling as soon as Rose had stormed by her mumbling something about the nerve of under-creatures.  The psion laughed at the red hand print on the halfling's face and then laughed at the parchment clutched in his hands.  She grinned and went on about knowing the trick and having pulled in on Zojikoe when they were children.  The halfling narrowed his eyes and waved her off irritably.

                Finally, there was Dil'andau.  The warrior had taken offense at the cockiness of the halfling's tone after the first demonstration and had made it a point to show the little bastard that he could hit the target more often and more accurately than he had.  And so for nearly a quarter of an hour, Dil covered his face in ink.  

                _Passionately_.  

                And the rest of the drow watched.

                "I can't believe I'm seeing this."  Rose said for the fifth time, awestruck and gawking at Dil'andau as he took the halfling's false advice and rolled the coin a couple times up and down his nose before dropping it onto the parchment.  There was a wide streak of ink running from between the drow's eyes down to the tip of his nose.  It was ridiculous.

                Beside the priestess, Zoe stood quite still, his face stony and his eyes wide.  He didn't know what to say or do.  In fact, he was busy wondering if _he_ had looked half as bad when his sister had done the same to him those years back.

                Beside Zoe, Ka was laughing so hard that she was doubled over, clutching her sides and crying.

                "Shut up!  I can _do_ this!"  Dil'andau roared up ahead, roughly shoving the halfling (who was almost as cramped with laughter by now as Ka) aside and carrying on with his face-painting.  The halfling looked over at Dil's companions and gave them an incredulous shrug.

                _You know_, Rain's voice chimed inside Ka's mind, _you should stop laughing.  He's making _you_ look bad too.  Look at him for Ilsensine's sake!  It's embarrassing _me_ and I'm not even _there!  Ka paused her hysterics a moment and wiped tears from her cheeks with her sleeve.  

                _This is great!  Come on!  You know you love it, Rain.  _Try_ and tell me that you're not gonna go off and do it to all your friends too._

                _Shut up!_  Rain snapped at once.  _I can't help but notice that you've gotten yourself into yet another sticky mess.  You'd best get out of it soon, else you'll have Kirisstind to contend with!  _Ka frowned and tried her best not to pay any attention to Dil (which was hard, an her speech was interrupted by random giggle fits).  

                _How do you know about Kirisstind_?  She asked.  Rain sounded annoyed.  

                _It's common knowledge now that she is the one looking for Rose.  She knows that your addled lover's with Rose too, by the way.  She also knows that there's more people involved.  _He paused.  _But on the upside, I didn't get questioned_.  Ka nodded.  

                _Yay.  I'm so happy for you I could die._

                _Would you?_  Rain quipped.

                _No_,  Ka cackled, _keep dreaming.  We'll figure this out, don't worry – or get pissed off, or whatever it is you do.  If we managed to escape the clutches of the most intelligent, awe-inspiring, godly, powerful creatures in all the planes–_

                _You're sucking up_, Rain interjected.

                –_Sorry_, Ka went on, _then I'm sure we can escape a couple surly dwarves.  Right?  Right.  _Rain made an indelicate sound. 

                _We'll see.  I think you should do something about your friend – that ink might be poisonous or something…_

                With that, the illithid left Ka's consciousness and the psion looked up at Dil again.  The warrior was fighting with the halfling now; apparently the little trickster had decided that enough was enough and he was currently trying to get his coin back from Dil.  After some quick footwork and some unintended paper cuts, the halfling got his coin back and Dil'andau came storming back towards the group.  

                "Did you see?!"  He called, over-excited and irritated all at once.  "I almost had it!  Jerk took it away before I could get if perfect and all, but…"  He stopped before the group and everyone looked at him in silence.  The dark mark down the middle of his face was impossibly ludicrous.  He looked at Ka.  Ka's chin was trembling. 

                "I can't even look at you right now."  She said apologetically, the words tumbling from her mouth in a heap and melting into a giggle.  She squeezed her eyes shut and laughed some more.

                "What?"  Dil snapped angrily.  He turned to look at Zojikoe and Rose, the deep frown on his face creasing the mark down his nose.  "What?!"  He repeated.  Behind Rose's robes, Mezzen giggled boyishly and pointed. 

                "You've got pen all up your face!"  He squealed and clutched Rose's robes tighter.  Dil growled.  

                "That's _bullshit_!  I'm gonna–"  He started in on Mezzen but Ka's arm dashed out before him.

                "Kid's right, champ."  Ka cackled, unable to explain further.  The warrior frowned.  Zojikoe motioned to his nose. 

                "You ah–"  He grinned, "–you're covered in ink."  He chuckled and drew away from Dil a bit, cautiously.  "When you rolled the coin on your face, you covered yourself in ink."  He laughed and pointed.  "I can't believe you _kept going_!"  He erupted into sobs of laughter.

                Dil'andau looked lost.  He touched a finger to the end of his nose and brought it before his eyes; there was indeed ink there.  He returned his finger to his nose and ran it all along the path the coin had taken.  There was ink there too.  He flushed and cleared his throat.

                "Yeah."  Rose said crisply.  She cleared her throat too.  The halfling entertainers bolted from the room.

                Dil ripped off towards a small carved fountain on the far side of the waiting room, spouting a line of swear words vile enough to counter Zojikoe's usual  line(s).  "God damn halflings with their shitty games preying on innocent people I'll teach them to make a fool out of me I will!"  He splashed his face with the icy water, cried out at the sudden coldness, then splashed his face some more, wiping madly at his nose.  A dozen feet away, Zojikoe pursed his lips and watched. 

                "You know…the scary thing is, that if we were to present him that game some time in the future, he'd do it again."  He shook his head.  "It's almost sad."  A grin twitched at the corners of his mouth.

                "It's not coming off!"  Dil moaned from the fountain.

                "Roll har– I mean _wipe_ harder!"  Ka cried to him before elbowing her brother sharply in the ribs.   "And I'd like to remind you of how you had to go to school with a stripe down your face for nearly a week, brother dear."  She looked over at Zoe and gave the mage a poisonous smile.  Zoe sneered back.

                "Really, Zojikoe?"  Rose piped up lightly.  "Well I would never have thought–"  She trailed off and the audience hall door slammed open before she could continue.  Standing in the doorway was Korgan himself, flanked by what appeared to be Shagbag and some other random dwarf.  Shagbag waved daintily at Zojikoe and then laughed.

                "I'm lookin' fer–"  Korgan declared, letting the phrase hang a moment as he scanned the little group of drow, "–fer–"  He repeated, then looked towards the fountain at where Dil'andau was still washing his face, "you."  He settled at last.  Dil'andau's head snapped out of the water and turned to face the door.  Korgan nodded.  "'At's right, lad.  I'm lookin' fer _you_."  He grinned, showing off some golden teeth.  "Leave the fountain alone – I've got plenty o' drink if ye want it – and come with me.  You an' I've some chattin' to make."  He beckoned Dil'andau near and the warrior went, still poking at his nose and checking to see if the ink had gone yet.

                "I'll talk with ye later."  The burly dwarf barked shortly at the others before ushering Dil'andau into the room beyond the audience hall and slamming the heavy door shut.  Zojikoe blinked. 

                "Well that's ominous."  He peeped uncomfortably.  He reach down to stiffly pet Slayer as the big cat circled his legs.  There was a momentary silence.

                "I think that other dwarf likes you, Zoe."  Came Mezzen's ever-insightful commentary.

***

                Eavesdropping.  The sport of champions.  

                Also a favorite pastime of the Venorik'Z'ress siblings.

                For the whole time Dil'andau was in the audience room with Korgan, Ka and Zoe were stuck to the door, listening in with all their might.  Zoe was listening physically, and Ka was listening psychically.  For an hour Dil had been in there with Korgan, and by the combination of the sounds Zoe heard and the more-than-normally disturbed thinking patterns Ka got from Dil, the conclusion was drawn that the dwarf and the drow were drinking.  

                This, coupled with Dil's usual lack of reasoning, was bad.

                From the patched conversation, it was gleaned that Korgan needed someone assassinated.  The 'someone' turned out to be the head of the clan currently sitting on the dwarven throne.  Though Korgan's own mind was not under perusal, it was more than suitable to assume that Korgan desired his own clan to be in charge or simply wished an old wronging to be avenged.  Either way, it didn't really matter.  What mattered was that Korgan wanted the four drow to help him perform the assassination; what also mattered was _how _he wanted them to do it.

                So far, Korgan had gotten Dil'andau drunk enough (assuming they even drank) to talk him into: selling the two females in his party to the dwarven King as a peace offering and getting them to poison the King, having both Zoe and him then barge into the clan house single-handedly and take out as much of the ruling clan as was possible, and finally, getting Zoe to summon a demon to blame it on.  

                "That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard in my entire life!"  Zojikoe whispered mournfully, pulling away from the door a moment to look back at Rose and Mezzen.  Ka still clung to the door, zoned out on what was going on inside.  Rose was furious ever since the female-selling bit came into it. 

                "When I get in there, I'm going to rip into Korgan and tell _him_ how this assassination of his is going to work!"  She growled, arms crossed over her chest.  "Why must I always be _sold_?  Hmm?  _Why,_ Zoe?  Why?!"  She motioned towards the door.  "I'm going to rip out Dil's eyes and shove them up his ass, so he can _watch _me kick the crap out of him!"  Zoe wrinkled his nose at the image. 

                "Mm-hmm…"  He mused, then "And just how does that ugly, dwarven bastard think I'm going to be able to summon a demon in the middle of some huge fight?!"  He sighed heavily.  "A fight carried _entirely_ by Dil, I might add, seeing as we're supposed to jam in there _alone_, like we're some kind of supermen!"  He threw his arms up.  "For Lloth's sake!  I haven't even graduated yet!"

                "I thought you were the b–"  Mezzen started, but Rose shushed him and sat down, pulled him into her lap and started stroking his hair.

                "Goddess!"  Ka gasped from the door.  Zoe and Rose turned their attention to her, dreading yet more impossible news from beyond the door.

                "What?"  Rose asked cynically.  "Do we have to do everything dressed as house plants, too?"  She rolled her eyes.

                "Every girl Dil's ever had – except me, naturally – was one of his sisters!"  Ka cried in a half-whisper; she looked over her shoulder at the others.  "Can you _believe _it?!  His sisters!  And he's got five of 'em!"  She frowned.  "I feel bad for him..."  Zojikoe rubbed his temples. 

                "Okay…were you even _listening_ to what Dil's been saying to Korgan?"  He demanded irritably, amused at the ironic news, mind, but still annoyed.  "If you're not going to do what you're supposed to be doing–"  He warned and Ka cut him off with a heavy sigh.

                "Shut up, Zoe."  The psion snapped moodily and returned to the door (to listen to the conversation or to pick around, no one knew).

                Zojikoe turned back to Rose once Ka had closed her eyes.  He grinned and shot Rose an 'I told you so' look that Rose ignored.  Mezzen tugged on Rose's sleeve. 

                "I'm hungry."  He complained.  Rose smiled at him.

                "Me too."  She agreed.  "But we've got to wait a bit before we can eat and rest and get cleaned up."  She made a face and almost added 'and sold – again'.

                Zoe and Ka cried out as the door to the audience hall whipped open, sending the both of them flying, only to land on their backsides a few feet off.  Korgan stood there again, standing with a grin on his face and a hand clapped on Dil'andau's shoulder.  Dil, despite what the others were expecting, didn't look inebriated.

                 "I'd like to talk with the rest of ye now.  Leave the cat and' the wee boy."  Korgan declared happily, patting Dil's shoulder and then letting him go.  "Yer friend 'ere's done."  He nodded to Shagbag from over his shoulder.  "He'll be waitin' fer the rest of ye in the guest chambers."  He waited for Shagbag to lead Dil away before beckoning the other drow to come.

                Rose got to her feet as Dil'andau walked by with Shagbag.  She looked up at him and sneered.   "You better be drunk."  She warned, hoping to all the gods that the male hadn't made all the crazy deals he'd made while completely sober.  Dil grinned at her and rubbed his nose. 

                "Do I look drunk?"  He winked at her and walked off with his dwarven escort.  Rose didn't know what to think.

                The three drow followed Korgan into his audience chamber and a random dwarf shut the door at their backs.  Korgan didn't bother to sit down at the large, low, chiseled stone table that adorned the center of the room.  Instead, he stood.

                "Alright."  Korgan started, saying it like it was hard.  "I've talked it over with yer friend, and we came up with a plan that should work."  He grinned, his real and golden teeth were quite stained.  "I need King Theodoric dead.  Him 'an his men alike, ye see."  He pointed to both Ka and Rose.  "I need the two o' ye to act like good little presents and go to ol' Theo pretendin' te be a gesture o' camaraderie.  Ye follow?"  He ignored the dull, stony look both females were giving him.  "Right.  Once you girls're in there good, jes poison the crackgnat and be done with it. "  He pointed to Zoe.  "An' I need _you_ an' yer friend that I jes talked to to rip in there once the girls're done wit' their job and kill everyone'ats left.  Ye follow?  Aye.  An' when yer all done _that_, make up some demon or whatnot to blame the whole mess onto."  He nodded to himself, happy with the plan, as bullshit as it was.

                The group was silent.  At and behind the door, Slayer growled, muffled but still audible.  Mezzen was talking to himself.

                "Did you drink with the guy who just came in here with you at all?"  Zojikoe asked, unable to think of anything else to say.  Korgan's eyebrows shot up and he shot Zoe a disarming smile. 

                "Nay.  Lad dinna be needin' any o' that."  The sudden piercing look in his eye led Zoe to believe that the group had just been had – _badly_.

                Rose considered calling on some spells to kill Korgan and every other dwarf in the vicinity, just out of indignity and frustration.  Then the group could bolt and never come back.  There would be no acting, no selling, no poisoning, no risking lives for someone else's dirty business.  But then, she reasoned, the dwarf wasn't really asking for much…and if they could do this, than they could leave (which they really had to do before Kirisstind found them), and even maybe if they went long with everything, they could perchance find another way out and leave _sooner_.   That'd be nice.

                "How many besides the King are we to expect?"  Rose asked Korgan, startling Zoe in his intent staring.  Korgan looked over at her and shrugged. 

                "Eh.  What say twenty?  Thirty?"  He shrugged again.  "Not much, priestess.  Ye scared?"  He laughed raucously.

                "How do you expect Dil'andau and I to rip through thirty men single-handedly?"  Zojikoe asked, annoyed.  He waited for Korgan to stop laughing in order to raise an eyebrow at him.

                "I don't _care_, laddie!"  The dwarf cried.  "You're the bag-of-tricks, _you_ figure it out!"  He shook his head.  "An' 'ere I thought I'd be getting' a good deal with drow 'an I get stuck with a band of _freaks_…"  He trailed off and rolled his eyes.

                Ka cleared her throat.

                _See?_  Rain's voice chimed.

                "Watch your tongue!"  Rose snapped angrily.  "Lest you want it removed from your vile mouth!"  She sneered at Korgan, who looked unimpressed with her display.  "I can still strike you down where you stand…"  Korgan snorted. 

                "Do that, _drow_, and ye'll be sportin' an axe between yer shoulder blades before ye can blink."  He offered her a foul smile and Rose gritted her teeth.  "Now this shouldn't take long.  Jes go clean yerselves up and me men'll be up te tell ye what te do next."  He waved them off carelessly and motioned for the dwarf by the door to let them out.  As the group moved to the door, Zojikoe looked over his shoulder at Korgan. 

                "When will my friend and I know when to come barging into the King's place?"  He asked worriedly.  "And when do I summon the demon…?"  He went on as the guard pushed him through the door.

                "I canna believe ye don't shut up!"  Korgan shouted after him.  When the door slammed shut again, he shook his head.  "Ever get the feelin' ye made a bad choice?"     


	22. Episode 22

EPISODE 22 

                Ka and Rose sat in the back of the carriage pulling them through the streets towards the Dwarven palace with identical scowls painted on their faces – nasty enough looks, in fact, to keep Shagbag and his own rag-tag band of dwarves from speaking to, or looking at the drowesses.  Ka picked at the diaphanous material chosen by Korgan for their 'uniforms' and her scowl grew darker.

                "Ten bucks says this was Dil's idea," she said flatly.

                "I'm going to make that dwarf regrets the instant he ever laid eyes on us," Rose said.  "I don't know how, but I will.  A slave _again!  Again, Ka!"_

                "I know, Rose, I know," Ka replied.  "I'm aware."  She held up her hands which were manacled together and attached by a long chain to her ankles.  The manacles weren't actually locked – that would hinder the women when it came time to poison the king – but they were unpleasant all the same.

                And besides . . . Rose had been pointing it out incessantly since they'd gotten into the carriage.

                "This is the single, most retarded plan in the world," the psion grumbled.  "This isn't going to work . . ."

                "Of course not," Rose said flatly.  "Your little boyfriend came up with it."  Ka narrowed her eyes at Rose.

                "Are you saying Dil's retarded?"  She demanded.  Rose raised an eyebrow and mimicked rolling a coin up and down her nose.

                "Deny it, Ka, I dare you.  Why do you even like him?"

                "I .. . . he's cute," Ka said, floundering for a reason she herself didn't even know.  "And he's big.  And . . . and he's . . ."

                "Retarded," Rose said at the same time as Rain went, _Retarded._

                "He's not retarded!"  Ka cried.

                "Ka, he can't even levitate," Rose said flatly.  "What kind of moron can't levitate?"

                "Mezzen can't yet," Ka returned.  Rose's expression remained unimpressed.

                "Mezzen's what?  Eight years old?  He's doing pretty well for someone that young.  Dil's what?  Two-hundred and fifty?  And he can't levitate, or probably even spell his own name.  Lloth, he probably can't spell _yours_ and it's two letters long."

                "Hey, lay off," Ka grumbled.  "He's a sweetie at heart, all right?"

                "Uh-huh," Rose said, slouching in her seat and crossing her arms, struggling to make the position comfortable with the chains.  "I'm sure."

                "Oh yeah, 'cause Zoe's such a prize," Ka said going on the offensive.  "Stupid moron hasn't even graduated yet!"

                "He will," Rose answered calmly.  "He'll graduate with honors as a matter of fact.  And at least he can spell his name, Ka.  And just for the record, he's quite good in bed.  Better than Dil would be, I'm sure.  Mages are an untapped resource in that respect."

                "Ha!"  Ka laughed.  "Zoe?  Good in bed?  That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard."

                "Speaking from experience Ka?"  Rose asked with a raised eyebrow.  "Apparently Dil's not the only one who slept with his siblings."

                "Stop that," Ka said, making a face.  "You sound like Dil.  Lloth, do you know what he dreamed last night?  He dreamt of me and Zoe having sex in front of him.  It was a worse nightmare than the one about Zoe being bigger than him.  Mother of Spiders!  He can't get it through his thick skull that we're related to each other!"

                "Sounds like he's got some insecurities," Rose replied.  "Wouldn't think it to look at him."

                "Only at night," Ka answered.  "Come daytime he's as confident as all Hell."

                "I suppose he's got a reason to be," Rose answered.  "He's talented with that stick of his.  I'll give him that much."  Ka grinned evilly at her.

                "That's not the only stick he's talented with," she said.  Rose made a face and glared at her.

                "Mental images I don't need, Ka, Lloth."

                "You swear a lot for a priestess, you know that?"

                "Shut up."

***

                "You've very good taste, me young drow friend."  The dwarven merchant offered him a wide, seedy smile.  Mezzen wrinkled his nose in disgust from his position on Zoe's back.  It seemed like none of the dwarves ever brushed their teeth.  "That pretty little bauble's come straight from the purest vein in these 'ere caverns."

                "How much?"  Zoe asked, examining the 'pretty little bauble,' recognizing it as exactly that – a bauble.  The dwarf pretended to consider.

                "300 gold," he said after a moment.  "But fer you?  Mmm . . . 250."

                "Tell me," Zojikoe said, idly rolling the amulet around on the table.  "Do I look like a bitch?"  Dil gave a sneeze that sounded suspiciously like 'yes.'  Zoe ignored him and watched the merchant closely.

                "Why, no sir, ye do not."  Zoe slammed his fist down on the table, startling the merchant, Dil _and Mezzen._

                "Then why're you trying to fuck me like a bitch?!"  He held the amulet up.  "This piece of tin isn't worth more than 35 gold pieces, tops!"

                "Piece of tin!"  The merchant cried.  "Dat dere is genuine, 24 karat gold!  And that jewel is _obviously_ a grade A ruby!"

                "Do you think I'm stupid?"  Dil'andau sneezed again and Zoe continued to ignore him.  "You think I'm stupid don't you?  I might not be a dwarf, but I know a cheap piece of imitation when I see one.  This _isn't 24 karat.  And that __isn't a ruby.  Lloth, I'd be lucky if it was even some kind of _semi­_-precious stone.  As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure it's glass.  40 gold pieces."_

                "Can't do it," the Dwarf said.  "_Won't_ do it.  I won't be ripped off by a stinkin' Drow."

                "I'm not the one doing the rippin', my _friend_," Zoe replied with a nasty smile.  "You're just bitter because you thought you'd get an easy 250 gold.  Now are you gonna take the 50 gold or am I going to give you back your piece of tin to wait for the next Drow who just happens to walk through your dirty little city stupid enough to believe it's worth anything more than 50 gold?"  The dwarf hesitated, glaring at him, then, sullenly:

                "A hunderd gold."

                "Not a chance in hell," Zoe replied, dropping the amulet back onto the counter and starting to turn away.  The Dwarf caught him by the arm.

                "Now, now," he said, "no need to be hasty.  I like ye, drow, I do.  Ye've a good eye.  I'll give you that little thing for 75 gold."  Zoe turned back around and raised an eyebrow.  He crossed his arms.

                "75 gold, and a chain to string it on," he said.  The dwarf sighed.

                "Ye're gonna drive me to bankruptcy," he growled.

                "75 and a chain, or no deal," Zoe said flatly.

                "Fine," the dwarf grumbled, holding his hand out.  "Done deal.  Hand over the cash."

                "Put the amulet on a chain and hand it to the boy, then I'll give you my cash."  The dwarf threw his hands up in the air and stormed back into the back of his shop to find a chain.  "And nothing cheap, either!"  Zoe shouted after him.  "I want gold or silver!"  The dwarf shouted back something nasty enough to send Mezzen into another tizzy of questions.  Zoe scooped the amulet up again and handed it down to Mezzen to examine.  

                "Is that what you wanted?"  He asked.  Mezzen frowned.  It wasn't _exactly what he wanted, but it was pretty damn close.  The shape was a bit off, and it was a little bigger, but the color was the same and that was what mattered.  He put it back on the counter as the Dwarf came back out, a silver chain clutched in his hand.  Mezzen nodded at Zoe as the dwarf strung the amulet on the chain and held it out to Mezzen, who took it again greedily, shot the dwarf a mistrusting look, and studied it.  Zoe handed over 75 gold pieces which the dwarf took greedily and studied.  He bit into one and examined it then waved his hand._

                "All right," he said.  "I'm done wit' ye.  Now git out of me sight.  I've _real_ customers to tend to."

                "Hmph," Zoe huffed as they left the shop.  "_Real_ customers.  Bull.  I paid him twice what that thing is worth."

                "You're a real cheap little bastard, you know that?"  Dil asked.

                "I'm not cheap, I'm _frugal_," Zoe said.  "And it's not a bad trait to have."  He looked down at his adopted son.  "What did you want that thing for, anyway, Mezzen?  For Rose?  She already has one."

                "Nope.  I'm going to give it to Ka," he answered.  Zoe and Dil'andau both blinked in surprise.

                "'Scuse me?"  Dil'andau demanded.

                "It's for Ka," Mezzen repeated.  "She gave hers away to Rose, so Rose wouldn't have to be scared of the illithids anymore, right?"

                "Yes," Zoe said, giving the boy an appraising look.

                "And you told me it was very especial to her."

                "Special, yes Mezzen, it was."

                "So I was thinking that that was really nice of her, but it kind of didn't seem fair since she lost her necklace.  So I thought maybe I'd give her this one.  It kind of looks like her old one, and I know it's not as special," he said the word carefully to avoid screwing it up again.  "But maybe she can pretend that it's her old one . . ."  He looked panicked all of a sudden.  "You think she'll like it, don't you?"  He asked.  "I know she doesn't like me very much, but I just thought –"

                "I think she'll like it, Mezzen," Zoe said hurriedly before the boy could send himself into a fit of hyperventilation.  "If there's one thing Ka likes it's presents."  He looked over at Dil.  "You might want to keep that in mind.  She didn't look too happy about the . . . uniforms you had Korgan pick out for them.  You should put that away Mezzen, before you lose it, or someone else decides they want it and tries to take it."

                "She'll get over it," Dil replied with a negligent wave, then grinned.  "Did you see 'em?  Ha!  They were practically see through!  I can't wait to see the girls in them!  Speaking of the girls," he added slyly, "I see you and Rose got on, just swimmingly the other night."  Zoe raised an eyebrow at him.

                "What makes you think –"

                "Oh come off it," Dil said.  "You _obviously got a piece of something.  You've been in too good a mood not to have.  You haven't even called me any names yet today.  Only one thing can make a man that happy, Zoe my friend, and it's–"_

                "You're very crude, you know that?"  Zoe demanded, cutting the fighter off before he could trigger more hard-to-answer questions from Mezzen.

                "What?"  Mezzen demanded.  Too late apparently.  "What makes a man happy?"

                "Nothing, Mezzen, plug your ears."  Mezzen frowned unhappily at the answer but did as he was told.  He had had to plug his ears a lot since they'd gotten into the city.  Dil'andau made an indelicate noise.

                "I could put it just as pretty as pie and it wouldn't change what it is," he replied.  "So . . . did you or didn't you?"  Zoe heaved a heavy sigh but cast a glance at the fighter out of the corner of his eye.

                "Yes," he said after a moment.

                "And?"  Dil asked, his grin huge.  Zoe smiled a bit to himself in remembrance.

                "It was good," he said.  "Very good."

                "Ha!"  Dil cried, clapping Zoe on the back hard enough to make the Mage stumble the next few steps.  "Told you my method couldn't fail!"

                "_Your_ method!"  Zoe cried, rounding on the fighter.  "Your method almost got me turned into a drider!  That's what _your_ method did!  I was insane to even listen to you!"

                "Hey, it worked didn't it?"  Dil demanded.

                "No," Zoe replied flatly.  "It didn't."

                "Oh yeah?"  Dil cried.  "Then where'd you get the sex, huh?"

                "I got it from caving in and telling her everything!"  He paused.  "And by giving her a present."  Dil stared at him blankly.

                "Giving .. . ."  He said, amazed.  "_Giving her something got you that far?"_

                "I _told_ you," Zoe snapped.  "Girls like presents.  They just do.  Lloth, why does my sister even like you?"

                "'Cause I'm cute," Dil'andau answered, already lost in the possibilities of giving Ka something getting him something.  He frowned suddenly and looked down at Mezzen.  "Hey!"  He barked.  "Is _that_ why he –"

                "NO!"  Zoe cried, resisting the urge to strangle Dil'andau.  "Dammit, Dil'andau!  He's just a boy!  He doesn't even know what that is yet!  Lloth, you're stupid."  Dil'andau growled at him and rolled up his sleeve as though to hit the mage, but a cry from behind them stopped him short.

                "THERE THEY ARE!"  They all whipped around (except Mezzen who still had his fingers in his ears).  Behind them the merchant who'd sold Mezzen the pendant was pointing at them.  Behind him were several more dwarves which looked suspiciously like guards of some sort.  "They stole a pendant from me!"

                "I can't believe this," Zoe said flatly.  "I can't believe this . . ."

                "Believe it," Dil'andau growled as the dwarves closed in on them.

***

                "Is he eating it yet?"

                "I don't know, shut up," Ka hissed, waving ineffectually at the priestess.  She closed her eyes and shut out the overly large kitchen they were standing in and reaching out with her mind for the dwarven king.  "No," she growled.  "He's still talking."

                "Dammit," Rose hissed.  "Why won't he eat it?"

                "I don't know, shut up!"  She hissed again.  "I can't concentrate with you talking."  The door to the kitchen suddenly burst open and a dwarf walked in, amused at the fact that two women jumped at the noise he made.

                "'ey!"  He shouted.  "The King wants some entertainment!"  He grinned at them.  "I 'ope ye can dance."

                "Um .. . . actually . . ."  Rose said, but before she could finish her sentence the dwarf grabbed her by the arm and threw her bodily out of the kitchen, Ka following a moment later.  They both landed hard on the floor in front of the gathering of dwarves.  The short fighters were arranged along three tables, two set parallel to each other, with a third (the King seated at the center of it) set horizontal along the ends of them on the other end of the room.  The dwarves laughed raucously and hammered their fists on the table at their appearance.  Rose felt the heat of anger and embarrassment rise to her cheeks and it was all she could not to summon something to mess them all up right there.

                "Ka," she hissed, pushing herself to her feet.  "Use your powers and _make_ him eat that food before I go over there and force feed it to him."

                "Sing us a song!"  Called one of the dwarves.  The hall thundered with agreement.  "Let's see ye dance!"  Someone else shouted.

                "Oh, I'll dance," Rose growled under her breath.

                "Do something," Ka hissed.  "I can't sing and dance _and_ mind-fuck.  It doesn't work that way."

                "Um .. . ."  Rose said.  "Uh . . . what . . . what would you like to hear?"  She stepped in front of Ka so that no one would see the vacant look that suddenly crossed her face.  "I . . . uh . . . I know a lullaby . . ."  That suggestion met with a chorus of boos.  "Um . . . uh . . ."  She watched as the King's eyes suddenly went distant and he reached for his fork.  "Uh . . ."  He moved for the plate with the poisoned food, but the dwarf right beside him suddenly reached forward and spilled the King's goblet all over the plate.  The King looked as though he would eat it anyway, but a servant suddenly whisked the ruined food away and replaced it with another plate.  The King took a huge bite as the servant disappeared behind the girls' backs into the kitchen.  Ka and Rose stared at the thoughtfully chewing king with expressions of disbelief..

                "A war song!"  The King cried suddenly.  "Let's hear a war-song!"

                "I hate this," Rose whimpered.

                "The boys had better be ready when its time," Ka growled, calling to mind the words to her old House war-song.  "Or heads will roll."

***

                "This is the song that doesn't end!

                Yes it goes on, and on, my friend!

                Some people, started singin' it, not knowing what it was!

                But they'll continue singin' it, forever, just because,

                This is the song that doesn't end . . ."

                Zoe dropped himself back onto the hard wooden cot in the corner of the small cell they'd been thrown into and covered his pointed ears with his hands.  Dil had been singing that song non-stop for the past half hour.  Fifteen minutes ago Mezzen had finally learnt all the words and had joined in, pausing only to ask Zoe why he wasn't singing too.  Over in the corner Slayer curled up and slept, dead to the noise around it.

                Covering his ears, however, provided him no relief, but before he could finally lose his patience _and_ his temper, the door to the jail burst open and two guards strode in, lead by Shagbag, who fixed Zojikoe with the biggest, dirtiest grin he'd ever seen.

                "Well now," said the vile little man, "if it isn't Korgan's bag o' tricks and his little friends.  You two are supposed to be at the palace."  Dil'andau climbed to his feet.

                "Would have been," he said defensively, "if the little bastards behind you hadn't decided to lock us up in here."

                "Never mind that," Zoe said impatiently, waving Dil off.  He forced himself to hide a relieved smile.  They would finally be out of the wretched jail.  "Let us out, quickly, so we can go finish our job."  Shagbag's grin only grew wider, however.

                "Well, now, wizard, yer hardly in a position to be makin' demands," the dwarf said with a rough laugh.  "If ye want out of there, ye'll have to be doin' me a favour first."  The look on the dwarf's face left very little doubt as to the kind of 'favour' the dwarf had in mind.

                Zoe could feel his face go pale as he suddenly came to understand how Shagbag might have earned his name . . .

***

                "Where are they?!"  Rose hissed, wincing at the wave of heat that came billowing up out of the stove as she attempted to reach in and pull out the cake that had been in there.  "The dinner's almost over!"

                "They aren't in the palace," Ka reported, her eyes going distant, "or anywhere nearby for that matter."  Rose cast her a concerned glance as she pulled out the cake and hastily cast it onto the table in front of Ka, sucking furiously on her index finger which had been burnt through a hole in the gloves she'd used.

                "You don't think Korgan . . ."

                "Double-crossed us?"  Ka finished with a dark frown, gingerly pulling the cake over to her and spreading on a generous dose of icing.  "I doubt it.  He was sincere about wanting this guy dead.  More likely they were jumped by some kind of dwarven thieves and are lying face down in a ditch with their throats slit."  Rose looked furious.

                "They'd better be," she muttered, "because if they haven't got a good excuse for not being here they will be."  Ka gave her current icing job a dubious look, then shrugged and immediately attacked the cake with the icing she held in her hand.

                "So what do we do?"  She demanded.  "We're on our last bit of poison and given the way our night's been going he probably won't eat this either —" they had tried three times after the first to poison the king but each time something had prevented it (the last time the alcohol the king had been drinking had finally kicked in right after he'd finally taken a bite and he'd simply thrown it back up again) – "and we haven't got a fighter to do it the old fashioned way, or a mage to summon a demon to blame it on."  She grumbled and stopped talking for a moment, concentrating on arranging the icing to look like a boat – the king apparently had a thing for pirate stories and had requested a pirate cake.  To her credit, Ka, who had never seen a boat in her life, wasn't doing half bad.  She brightened abruptly.  "Hey, wait!"  She said.  "You're a priestess!  Why don't _you_ summon something?  Something big.  Then we won't have to do anything."  She paused and licked a finger, then made a face at the over-sweetness of the icing.  No wonder the dwarves had such bad teeth.  "Well . . . I'll take care of the King, just to be sure.  I don't trust the lucky bugger to die on his own."  She frowned when Rose didn't immediately answer and cast the priestess a sharp look over her cake.  Rose didn't notice and Ka scowled, not noticing when a large blob of icing landed in a splotch on the boat she had been trying to make, more or less ruining the desired effect.  "Well?"  She demanded impatiently.  Rose shook her head and frowned hesitantly.

                "It's not that easy . . ."  She said vaguely.  Ka frowned dubiously and raised an eyebrow.

                "Yes it is," she countered.  "I may not be a priestess, but I know how it works.  It _is that easy."_

                "But you're not counting . . ."  She let her voice trail off and an expression of insecurity (which Ka had never seen before) suddenly flashed across her face.  The psion blinked in surprise and stared in consternation at the ruby pendant around Rose's neck which kept her from breaking into the priestess' mind and making the whole conversation that much easier.

                "Look," she said flatly, "can you do it or not?  Because if you can't, we're going to be stuck here, slaving away for that short little fucker and his friends for the rest of our lives.  Somehow I don't think Korgan will go out of his way to rescue us, and Zoe and Dil are obviously not about to hold up their end of the arrangements."  Rose still looked unconvinced, so Ka threw her a dark, threatening look.  "If you'd prefer I can have Rain send some of his buddies to come and get us . . ."  Rose stared at Ka with wide, horrified eyes and shuddered.

                "Why do you _insist_ on doing that?"  She demanded.  "No illithids."  She scowled.  "I'll kill myself, Ka, I swear it.  Don't you dare."

                _Like__ I would, Rain muttered in her brain._

                _Go away, she retorted flatly.  _I haven't got time for you right now_.  She turned back to Rose before the illithid could argue and picked up the half-iced cake.  "Look man," she snapped, "whatever your problem is, get over it.  I'm going out there to give them this fucking cake, and then if he won't eat it, I'm just going to kill him.  If you haven't got something big and nasty out there by the time that happens, we're both screwed.  Either way at least I won't have to spend any more time in this shitty palace . . ."  She moved away before Rose could argue and pushed herself out the door to a raucous chorus of catcalls and other noises._

                "Dammit, Ka," Rose scowled, whirling around in a fury.  "You don't understand . . ."  She hurried over to a mirror hanging on the far wall of the kitchen and stood before it, wincing at her own appearance.  She had been relieved of everything that marked her as a priestess of Lloth to avoid arousing suspicion of her actual power and purpose.  She sighed bitterly as she grabbed a candle off the wall and lit it.

                "This is going to look so bad . . ."  She murmured, steeling her courage and starting to pray.

***

                 Mezzen stared at the closed door that was blocking his view of Zojikoe and the ugly dwarf who'd gone in there with him.  They'd been in there for fifteen minutes, and though he couldn't say why, Mezzen felt distinctly uneasy about the whole situation.  He turned to ask Dil'andau what they were doing in there, but the drow fighter was busy picking his teeth and humming a bawdy song to himself.  Mezzen quickly decided that Dil might not be the one to ask.  He turned back to the door and turned his mind inward instead.

                _What are they doing in there?_  He inquired mentally of his old master.

_                They're . . . playing, Mezzen,_ replied the illithid in a pained tone he usually used when he really didn't want to talk about something.  

                _Playing what?_  Mezzen asked.  _How come I can't play?  Why didn't Zoe look happy if they were just playing?_  The illithid sighed heavily.

_                You ask too many questions, Mezzen.  You're far too curious for your own good,_ the illithid grumbled.  It fell silent for a moment, but couldn't help but add: _Why don't you go ask your new mother.  I'm sure _she'll _tell you.  After all, she knows everything. Rotten, lying thieves usually do.   _Mezzen rolled his eyes but declined to comment.  He had learnt early on that Rose was a touchy subject with his master, and vice versa and had decided as a general rule not to discuss one with the other.  They each had their own way of dealing with it: his master by adding in catty little remarks which Mezzen ignored, and Rose by simply ignoring the fact that the boy was mentally attached to one of the 'tentacled freaks' that had locked her in a closet.

                _Why won't you tell me what they're doing?_  He asked petulantly.  _Don't__ you like me any more?_  He could feel the illithid soften.

                _That was a very mean thing to say, Mezzen, you should know me better than that.  I'm doing this for your own good, you know.  You're too young for it, his master replied.  _That's__ not _for_ you, Mezzen.  Maybe when you're older._  Mezzen pouted, but his eyes narrowed slyly._

                _Fine,_ he said.  _Then maybe I _will_ ask Rose.  She probably knows more about it than you anyway, since she's a drow too . . ._  He felt a little guilty about the sudden surge of hurt and panic he could feel in his master, but in general he didn't feel guilty for long about things that got him his way, and this was no exception.  The illithid hesitated for a long moment, but eventually his urge to show up Mezzen's new 'owner' got the best of him.

                _Mezzen .. . . when a man, loves a man very much, sometimes they –_  He was cut off as the door that Mezzen was staring at suddenly burst open and Zojikoe came running out, the keys clutched tightly in his hand.

                "Ha!"  Dil practically crowed.  "I always knew you were gay."  He made a face suddenly.  "But with a dwarf?  Fuck, Zoe, I thought you had standards."

                "Shut up," Zoe snarled, "and keep your voice down.  I didn't do anything, all right?  I put the stupid . . ."  He bit off the word 'fucker' when he realized Mezzen was staring at him with wide eyes, " . . . jerk to sleep with a spell.  We have to get out of here before he wakes up.  Lloth, I hope the girls are okay."  He jammed the keys roughly into the lock on the jail and ripped open the door.  "Come on, we have to get to the palace before something goes wrong.."

***

_Vendui, Priestess, the handmaiden said, her expression unimpressed.  Rose clutched Ka's pendant in a white-knuckled grip and fought the urge to put it back on.  She'd had the distinct impression this wasn't going to go well when the glowing light which takes the reason for your summoning and determines it's worthiness didn't even give her the chance to say what she wanted.  It had taken one look at her and immediately the handmaiden (the _tentacled_ handmaiden) had appeared.  The tone the yochlol was using was doing nothing to help her confidence.  __We've_ been wondering when you'd finally try this.__

                A crash and a frantic shout from the room outside sounded despite the heavy doors in the way.

                "HEY!  THAT'S NOT YOUR CAKE, FUCKER!  THAT'S THE _KING'S CAKE!"  _

                Neither Rose nor the handmaiden acknowledged Ka's shout.

                "Greetings," Rose said, the look on the handmaiden's hideous face not doing anything for the butterflies in her stomach either.  "Um . . . first, I would like to, uh . . . apologize for the lack of . . . of . . . carnage in Lloth's name on my account.  I . . . know I've been lax, but I can –"

                _Save it, Rose, snapped the handmaiden.  __We know all _about what you've been up to for the last few months, and I don't really think I need to tell you that Lloth is unimpressed to say the least._  _

                "NO!  DON'T EAT THAT!  ARGH!"

                Rose swallowed thickly and barely managed to withhold a wince.

                "I . . .. humbly beg the forgiveness of the great Spider Mother for my transgressions," she said stiffly.

                _Don't__ fret, Rose, the handmaiden said in a bored voice.  __You stand higher in Lloth's eyes than some—  The handmaiden muttered something Rose couldn't quite make out but she could have sworn she heard the words 'Matron Streeka'Xukuth' and 'stoned' – _even if you have wasted the past few months gallivanting around the Underdark instead of performing the proper rites and sacrifices inherent in your position, let alone any kind of acceptable amount of worship.___  You are not beyond redemption yet._

                "What . .. . what must I do to redeem myself and regain Lloth's favor?"  The handmaiden grinned nastily at her, suddenly becoming interested in their conversation – a fact which made Rose more nervous than ever.

                _It's__ quite simple really, she said, looking deeply pleased at something.  __Give up the boy.  Sacrifice him to Lloth.  _

                There was another crash from the outside room and a loud thud.  "IF I CATCH YOU EATING SOMEONE ELSE'S CAKE AGAIN, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A SLICE OF KA'S SPECIAL _PAIN CAKE!"  Rose forced herself to keep her expression neutral – no mean feat all things considered, even if she had more or less expected this._

                "W-What boy?"  She asked desperately.  "There is no boy."  The handmaiden glared at her.

                _Don't__ push it Rose, it snapped mentally.  Rose struggled to keep her breathing even._

                "But . .. . I can't just . . . Dil'andau!"  She gasped suddenly.  "I'll sacrifice Dil'andau instead!  Would that do it?  Would he count?"

                _No, snapped the handmaiden.  __It's_ the boy or Lloth's favor, Rose._  Rose looked as though someone was slowly cutting off her airflow._

                "But . .. . Mezzen's just . . ."

                _Look at yourself, Rose!  The handmaiden cried exasperatedly.  _You are a priestess of Lloth!  And instead of acting like one you're wasting your time wandering aimlessly around the Underdark and doting on a foolish little heathen child instead of on your Goddess – the _only_ one who should be receiving your devotion.__

                "No!"  Rose gasped, her voice strangled.  "No!  It's not like that!  He's just a boy!  He . .. . he needs me . . ."

                _Precisely, the handmaiden said.  _He is a boy. A needy little boy who is distracting you from your true tasks.  _It rolled its eyes suddenly at the expression on Rose's face.  _This shouldn't even be an issue!  He's not even _your__ boy.  What's wrong with your brain?!_

                "Yes he is," Rose said, immediately defensive.  "He _is_ mine!  He's my son!  Zoe and I . . . I mean, _I've_ adopted him!  He's a Velve'Pa'Das now!"

                _House Velve'Pa'Das no longer exists, the handmaiden snapped._

                "Streeka'Xukuth then!"  Rose cried desperately.  "They'll have to take he and I in when we go back to Ched Nasad!  Tradition demands it!"

                _You aren't helping anything by bringing them up, the handmaiden said dryly.  _A worse House I have yet to see . . . except, perhaps, Venorik'Zress . . . who, I can't help but notice, you have _also __attached yourself to.  She shook her head.  _Stop stalling, Rose.  The boy must die.  He is clouding your judgment and making you soft.  He knows nothing of your people.  He has been ruined by the illithids, and Lloth has no patience for ruined drow.__

                "But he's not ruined," Rose said frantically.  "I can . . . I can save him!  I swear it!  And he's not a heathen!  I've already started his education in the Drow ways and religion!  He'll know how to worship Lloth properly soon –"  The handmaiden suddenly laughed coldly.

                _Education?!  It cried.  _"We worship Lloth because she's cool."  _Your__ words I believe.  You call that an education?_

                " – and when he grows up he'll be the best fighter _and mage this side of anywhere!"  Rose continued, ignoring the handmaiden's jibe.  "All for Lloth!  He'll fight in her name!  I __swear it!  I do!"_

                _You're__ running out of time, Rose, the handmaiden said shortly.  _And___ I am out of patience.  Prove your loyalty to Lloth and kill the boy, or be cast out and stripped of your powers and status.  The drowess stared helplessly back at the handmaiden._

                "Have . .. . have my years of service meant nothing, then?"  She asked, playing her last card.  "I've served Lloth faithfully my whole life.  I've dedicated myself to nothing else.  Does that come to nothing?  Has it all been for nothing?"

                _Will you kill the boy?  The handmaiden countered._

                "No," Rose whispered, her voice barely audible.

                _Then yes, the handmaiden replied, her voice harsh.  __It has all been for nothing.  She shook her head in disappointment.  _You could have been great, Rose.  And you've cast it all aside for the sake of a mere _child.  _From now on you will find nothing but death anywhere Lloth is worshipped_.  She made a gesture that Rose recognized and from the other room panicked screams suddenly erupted, overridden by a loud roar and the skittering of dire spider legs.  _Not for you,_ the handmaiden said darkly at Rose's perplexed look.  _King Theodoric has been harassing Drow surface parties for some time now, and Lloth has grown tired of his meddling.  Enjoy what time you have with your boy, Rose, if you can.  And know that you've given up everything you ever wanted for him._  And then she was alone in the kitchen._

                Maniacal laughter echoed from the other room.  "EAT SPIDER, JERKASS!"

Rose finally allowed her knees to give out and collapsed, trembling onto the floor.  She closed her eyes tightly and choked back a terrified scream.

                Meanwhile, out in the dining room, Ka watched with a wide grin as the dire spiders and the balor that had appeared out of nowhere ripped through the dwarves gathered, cutting a bloody swath through the room and leaving dwarven bodies and pieces everywhere.  Once every last dwarf in the room was dead the summoned creatures all disappeared in individual flashes of light.  After the last one left, Rose finally dragged herself out of the kitchen and stumbled weakly into the dining room.  She looked around with dead eyes at the carnage in the room.  Ka frowned.

                "What's with you?"  She demanded.  "You look like someone ate your kid."  Rose shot her a baleful look that made no sense to the psion – who was once again cursing her decision to leave Rose with her father's pendant – and turned away.

                "Let's just . . . go find the boys," she said quietly.  But the suggested action proved to be unnecessary when the door to the dining room suddenly burst open and Zojikoe and Dil'andau burst in, panting, out of breath, and striking a dynamic pose.

                "This party's _over_!"  Cried Dil.

                "No shit," Ka said nastily.  "No thanks to you two champions.  Where the hell were you?"

                "Where's Mezzen?"  Rose demanded.  Zoe blinked at her expression and the urgency in her voice.

                "I . . .. left him in a closet back down the hall.  Figured he might not be ready for this kind of carnage up close.  Didn't want him hyperventilating over whatever we –"  But Rose was no longer listening, and was instead running down the hall and calling for the boy.  Zoe watched her perplexedly, then whirled around and frowned at Ka.

                "What did you do to her?!"  He demanded.

                "As _if_ you killed them all without me!"  Dil'andau cried, offended.  "That was very selfish of you."

                "Shut up, Dil," the siblings said at the same time.  "Just shut up."


	23. Episode 23

Author's notes for this baby:

- ripped a line off of Pirates of the Caribbean (love that movie!)  
- I am SO sorry this chapter took as long as it did to come out…

EPISODE 23

It had been two days since the crew had left the confines of the dwarven city. After the incident at the palace, Korgan had promised up and down that he would deal with 'Rose' and her lackeys when they arrived, and they had made a quick pit stop at the markets on their way out of town. They'd refreshed their consumables, and purchased new clothes for Mezzen, whose single set of robes had been mended so many times they were starting to fall apart anyway, as well as a new spell book (complete with new spells) for Zoe, and a new coloring book for Mezzen, in the hopes of keeping him out of other, more important books.

For the next day, their travels outside the city were highlighted by two notable things: bad jokes about Korgan's taste in men and a strange, lingering odor reminiscent of the Venorik'Z'ress basement…

> > ------------------------

> On the second day, the crew happened upon the source of the smell. Strewn across a low outcropping of stone that served as a bridge and scattered over the cavern floor was a mass of dead bodies. The small-sized, relatively fresh corpses had been stripped of armor and most weaponry; across the makeshift bridge a good dozen of the unfortunate deceased were piled in a haphazard heap at the mouth of what appeared to be a ill-used mine shaft.

As soon as Zojikoe rounded the corner and caught sight of the grisly scene, he immediately put a hand to his mouth and turned back around, going out of sight to purge his stomach. The rest of the group stopped in their tracks and stared. Ka snorted.

"Nice." She snapped dully. Beside her, Dil'andau shook his head.

"Fucking gnomes, fuck." He grumbled bitterly. The dead were indeed gnomish; deep gnomes, actually. Dil, along with the rest of the Drow, held no love for the diminutive race; their greed made them careless, and often in their search for wealth they would find themselves encroaching on territory that was not theirs.

Personally, Dil'andau qualified them as beady-eyed vermin.

He laughed.

"See that, _champ_?!" He cried loud enough for the out-of-sight Zojikoe to hear over his vomiting. "I _told_ you it was a waste of time to stick the kid in a closet back at Korgan's place!" He looked over at Mezzen, who was wide-eyed and literally trembling with horror. "Kid's now looking at _five times_ the death he would've seen had he watched us tear into the King and his lot!" Zojikoe ignored him and he guffawed some more, then bent to roughly clap Mezzen's back. The boy stumbled forward and teetered closer to a gnomish corpse, but before he could suck in his breath to scream, Rose's hand shot out and pulled the boy back towards her.

She glared up at Dil'andau and the male gave her a challenging look, expecting to be berated. Instead, the priestess bent to speak softly to Mezzen. Confused and admittedly a little triumphant, Dil'andau smirked.

Maybe that diaphanous clothing had done the impossible and kicked Rose down a notch.

"That's right…" He mumbled under his breath and turned to Ka, hoping to get some prime gloating in while he still could. The psion, however, had gone ahead and was picking her way through the corpses, periodically bending to briskly look through the gnomes' clothes. After rolling one guy over with her foot, she plucked from beneath him a bloodied piece of parchment; she gave it a quick read then turned to the group's general direction.

"Hey Zoe!" She cried loud enough for the whole Underdark to hear. "Found a 'burning hands' scroll. That too high level for you?" There came no answer. Across the way, Rose's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed, her displeasure at the volume of the exclamation visible by how thin her lips were. Ka pursed her own lips into a small 'o' and idly dropped the scroll, then scooted away from the corpse. "Sorry." She peeped.

From behind Rose, Mezzen, Slayer and Dil came a loud shuffle, a whimper, and the clank of metal. Simultaneously, they all turned to see an armed newcomer step in from around the bend; in a firm headlock, the hideously scarred drowess held Zojikoe. The mage was trying in vain to squirm from her grasp, her arm muffling a multitude of swear words. At the sight of her sister, Rose gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.

"Dammit…Lloth!" She moaned, drawing a strange look from Dil'andau. Why wasn't Kirisstind dead?! Had Korgan screwed her and her companions over? An undeniable red-hot rage welled up within her at the thought of the bearded dwarf; growling, she shoved Mezzen behind her and stepped forward, finger pointing accusingly at Kirisstind. "Drop him." She hissed and her sister flashed her a toothy grin.

"Nice to see you again too, blood of mine." Kirisstind replied coldly, eyeing the remainder of the people in the group. She made no move to release Zojikoe. Rose felt a sudden jolt of panic, but suppressed it just as quickly as it came.

"You're late." She managed, stalling. To her left, Dil'andau had his weapon drawn; she couldn't see Ka as the psion was well behind her, but still she hoped that the drowess was readying some kind of trick that would aid them. Slayer's fur stood on end and Mezzen's small hands pulled on the back of her robes. Kirisstind cackled.

"I was_ delayed _by a poorly-organized welcome committee." She spat sourly, recalling the bloody wake-up call she'd gotten that very morning. She had narrowly escaped death at the hands of a pack of rabid dwarves who found entertainment in sticking axes in peoples' skulls while they slept. Needless to say she'd used up quite a few of her stronger spells in an effort to…_dissuade_ the dwarves. She came out of it alive, alone and enraged. Rose sneered.

"I know what you're here for, _sister_," She spat the word, "but it's a foolish undertaking. We are four and you are one." She motioned with her chin for Kirisstind to back off. "Drop the male, drop your weapons." She ordered. Beside her, Dil giggled. She had a pretty good idea why and ignored it. Kirisstind widened her eyes and pouted, adopting a grotesque expression of feigned innocence.

"What weapons?" She cooed and snapped a slender knife from under her sleeve. She brought the blade to Zojikoe's throat and tightened her grip on him, causing him to cry out and gasp for air. Rose felt a bead of sweat trickle down the back of her neck.

"_Drop him_!" She roared and darted forward, Mezzen screeching along with her, then stopped abruptly as her sister dug the blade into Zoe's flesh. Kirisstind licked her lips.

"I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request." The vile female replied, a droplet of Zojikoe's blood sliding over the sheer blade of her knife. She tore her gaze from Rose's and took a moment to peer down at Mezzen. "Means 'no'." She added and winked at the impotently furious little boy before turning a scowl up at the crew. "Make one move against me and I cut his head off."

She meant it, too. Irritated by the deadlock, Dil'andau scowled at his newest sibling.

"Why aren't you back home, ripping peoples' hearts out and sucking up to my mother?" He growled. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Rose is with me – _us_ – and you have no business here. The Matron's gonna be _pissed_ when she realizes you've run off to kill what could eventually become another Streeka'Xukuth priestess!" Kirisstind was not impressed; in her arms, Zojikoe whimpered powerlessly at Dil's aggressive tone.

"The Matron?" Kirisstind echoed almost softly, narrowing her already-narrow eyes at the male. "The _Matron_?!" She sneered. "You fool! It was the _Matron_ who gave me the 'ok' to go after Rose!" Dil blinked. "The _Matron_ doesn't give a _damn_ what happens to her, so I can do what I please!" She grinned her rictus grin again before going on in a more sly tone. "And guess what, sunshine? The _Matron_ doesn't give a damn about you _either_!" Dil's brow furrowed.

"What?" He snapped, confused. "But she sent me here, after the Kyrashar Rose!" He countered and meant to add more, but Ka's deadpan voice sounded in his mind and stopped him before he could.

_Ha! Exactly. Sucker!_ There was a pause, and then: _That hurt... _Kirisstind nodded at Dil's stunned look, assuming he finally understood his plight.

"Your have the IQ of a garden tool, male." She droned. "Your precious _Matron_ sent you out on this wild goose chase so that you could _die_. _Die_ and never return to the city, to _infect_ your House with your idiocy." She looked pleased with herself. Beneath her knife, Zojikoe peered over at Dil'andau; the warrior looked lost in thought, his weapon was lowered and his shoulders slumped. The mage felt a pang of sympathy, then pushed it out of his mind and thanked the Gods no one had witnessed it.

"You're mean!" Mezzen chirped from behind Rose's robes. Kirisstind looked away from Dil, but before she could address the boy Rose stepped in.

"Enough of this!" She cried, startling the crew out of their momentary silence. She pulled from her belt the dagger that Zojikoe had fashioned for her and the offensive action put Kirisstind into motion instantly. Zojikoe screamed as the scarred female growled and drew back her arm, ready to do away with him.

He couldn't believe Rose had done that. Couldn't believe she hadn't thought twice.

Perhaps she had re-assessed her priorities and really _didn't_ like him anymore.

"Rose, wait!" He shrieked and screwed his eyes shut, bracing for the kill…

But the blade never came.

An unseen force flung the knife from Kirisstind's cocked hand just as she pulled it back and sent the small weapon flying off to the side.

"Why didn't you do that _earlier_?!" Dil'andau roared at Ka and started for Kirisstind. Cornered, the priestess dropped Zojikoe and scrambled back, then performed a few hand gestures and disappeared just as the warrior came within range. Dil'andau whipped back around, swinging his halberd in a wide arc that nearly decapitated the kneeling Zojikoe. "_Bitch_!" He swore, looking around frantically. On the floor, Zojikoe rubbed his bloody neck with a shaky hand.

"Now I know you're not gonna understand this," He warned, speaking to Dil, as all went quiet again, "but she's gonna cast spells!" His eyes, darting about madly, fell upon Rose. Once regal, the dagger-wielding priestess now looked disheveled and tired; her gaze, only mildly alert now that Kirisstind had disappeared, reflected a look of resignation.

It was a look he'd seen only on his sister, and he was horrified to see it on Rose.

Steeling himself suddenly, Zoe got to his feet and straightened himself up beside Dil'andau.

Rose would _not_ turn into Ka.

Ever.

Shoving Dil'andau aside, he began to chant, his hands moving swiftly and precisely as they traced arcane symbols in the air before him. Across the way, Ka's eyes snapped shut and back open again. She pointed to the mine shaft.

"She's there!" She called as Zoe's spell went off and Dil'andau came tearing through the room. Zojikoe's spell stripped Kirisstind's invisibility shield, revealing her in mid-cast. Hoping to disrupt the vile priestess' concentration, Ka reached out for Kirisstind's mind with her own…and found a block of distinctive illithid origin.

_What the hell is this?!_ She demanded of Rain. The illithid paused.

_There's a member of my community in her House. Blame him._ Ka sighed dismally and, before her, Kirisstind completed her incantation.

_This is gonna suck, isn't it?_ She asked of her brain-mate.

_I think so, yes._ Came the drab reply.

And it did.

A soon as Kirisstind released the energy held in her spell, the gnomish corpses that littered the floor began to stir. Dil'andau halted a few feet behind Ka and stared as one of the creatures to his immediate right pulled itself to its feet and took a shambling step towards him. Idly, he raised his halberd and poked it in the chest; the whole top half of it slid off at the waist and fell to the ground with a thump – the bottom half tipped over seconds later. He chuckled and flashed Kirisstind a charming smile.

"This is the best you can do?" He asked, hoping with all his heart that the answer was 'yes'. Ka exhaled loudly. Kirisstind returned his smile and made a sharp pushing motion with her hands; as a group, all the corpses in the room rose to their feet.

_The suckening_, Rain chimed in Ka's mind. _I like to call this 'the suckening'. Have fun!_

"Rose!" Ka cried, stepping back from Kirisstind as the gnomish zombies began to close in around her. "_Do something_!" She clumsily patted about her person in search of a weapon and found none handy. Beside her, Dil'andau whipped by blade first and dove at Kirisstind. Cackling now, priestess held out her hand and froze the warrior firmly in place.

"Not so fast, handsome." She hissed and clutched at a spider bauble hanging from her belt. "I'm not done with you. _Lloth_ is not done with you." She reached out with a bony hand and clamped Dil's shoulder, releasing a spell that she'd memorized and quick-stored especially for him. The sounds of battle rose up from around them as the zombies began their assault. Dil could hear all of it but could do nothing; frozen, he watched Kirisstind stride by him.

And then the pain exploded.

Across the room, Mezzen had darted into a corner and was cowering there; defending him was Slayer, who kept the oncoming zombies at bay as best he could. Rose stood nearby, fending off a duo of zombies with the help of her dagger.

"Mezzen!" She called to the boy, shaking from her robes the clawing little scabbed hand of an undead gnome. "Get out of here as soon as you get an opening!" The second zombie had a short sword and she found herself having to dance out of its way more than she would have liked. "Run! Run outside and back into the caves!" She looked to the boy when she could spare a glance and wondered if he had even heard her; he was curled into a ball, well hidden behind Slayer's muscular ebon form. Worried, she prepared to raise her voice and repeat the warning, but a scream followed by the sound of more spell casting caught her attention.

The scream had come from Ka and she'd unleashed it after one of the surrounding gnomes had planted his pick-hammer into the back of her leg. Panicked, she gathered what little concentration she could and launched herself into the air, levitating a few feet over the mass of zombies.

_Holy shit holy shit holy shit! Rain! What do I do?!_ The desperate call reached the illithid in little time.

_At what point, exactly, did I become your advisor?_ Rain quipped. Ka, only half paying attention to the 'conversation', frowned. Below, the zombies more-or-less scattered and wandered away when their target moved out of reach. Kirisstind was slowly and confidently heading for Rose.

_You want my knowledge?! Then keep me alive! And keep the others alive too so they can keep me alive!_ She snapped. Rain made a gurgling sound and Ka felt a pressing at the front of her head.

_Use the circlet, you idiot girl! _The illithid scolded. Ka blinked and reached up to touch the cool metal of the circlet of Venilkesk – the psionic answer to an undead threat. She grinned.

_Rain!_ She called, hopeful once more. _You rock!_

_I'm not doing this for you, just so you know,_ Rain grumbled bitterly._ I'm doing it for Mezzen; that little creature's master would _kill_ me if I was in some way responsible for his death._ Ka dismissed the ramifications of the comment and, heartened, returned her attention to the matter at hand.

Her mood, however, went right back to hell when she caught sight of Dil'andau slashing his way through a wave of undead assailants. It took her a few seconds to come to grips with what she was looking at, but when she finally accepted it for what it was, her heart sank.

Kirisstind had turned Dil into a drider.

"Fucking Lloth, _fuck_." Ka spat viciously, watching the male hack gnomes out from between his huge, eight, segmented legs. She'd never actually _seen_ a drider before, and she had to admit to herself that she could honestly have done without ever seeing one at all. Simply put, it was ugly as sin. She smiled.

On the upside, the gnomes were much too small to actually harm Dil.

Mildly content now, Ka put a hand to the circlet on her brow and focused her attention on a zombie milling about beneath her. "It's time for an ass-whoopin'…" She mumbled to herself, calling upon the energy held within the magic item she fondled. It took a moment to get a response, but when it came, the unseen release went off like a shot.

Beneath her, the target zombie literally exploded.

On the ground and about ten feet away, Zojikoe's arms flew up to shield his face; the exploded zombie's still-fresh innards splashed him with enough force to sting the flesh beneath his robes. There had been no warning that the creature would explode, and he had been concentrated on a – now lost -- spell. Stunned and aghast, he lowered his arms and patted about himself swiftly. "I want somebody to take me to a hospital…" He grumbled and shot a dark look up at his sister (who he could only assume the disturbance had come from) before attempting to restart the incantation he'd ruined.

Not two seconds into it, however, did he stop again; an odd blur at the corner of his eye caused him to turn his head. "Holy shit!" He cried, eyes widening as he caught sight of spider-Dil. What a gloriously suited transformation! Zojikoe grinned; were it not for the hordes of undead gnomes, he would have considered having a kind thought for Rose's disfigured sibling. Maybe a pat on the back, a thank you, a small gift even…

"Holy _shit_!" The mage cried again, though this time the exclamation was not for the fairly-distant Dil'andau, but rather for the oncoming wave of zombies that had just about _appeared_ into his immediate field of vision. Without so much as a second thought, he belted out the words to an invisibility spell and vanished as Kirisstind had earlier on. He had every intention of torching the room with a fireball the _second_ he could manage it.

Even if there were still live people in it.

Being horribly, _horribly_ maimed was in fact better than being dead, after all…

Just ask Dil.

Back near the exit, Rose finished off the two gnomes threatening her just as Kirisstind gingerly stepped through the chaos of the battle to stand before her. Kirisstind's presence seemed to repel the zombies, for they no longer ventured near, opting instead to head for the corner where Mezzen cowered or back towards Dil'andau. As far as Rose was concerned, that was _fine_.

Everything _else_, however, was distinctly _not_.

"Look at you," Kirisstind purred, coming forward on cat feet, her eyes giving Rose a brief look-over as she drew close, "all helpless and alone. It's _disgusting_." She turned her head and spat. "Not the opportunistic monster I remember…" When she looked back up at Rose, the priestess had her dagger up and a glint in her eye.

"I was alone when I gave you that scar, sister." She warned. "So you may want to re-evaluate your definition of 'helpless'." The butterflies in her stomach weren't butterflies any more. They had turned into gigantic moth Gods. Her pride was wounded, more so than she could even begin to admit; one who has not been the eldest sibling cannot understand the irritation of watching a younger sibling grow to surpass him or her. Kirisstind had the upper hand and there wasn't a _thing_ Rose could do about it. On impulse, she raised her dagger and slashed at Kirisstind with it. The younger drowess sidestepped to avoid the weak attack.

"What're you gonna do, Rose?" She teased, making no move to counter with her own weapon. She donned an expression of mock surprise. "Cut me?" She laughed and Rose scowled. "And then what?" She made a slashing motion across her face in the opposite direction as that of her existing scar. "Cut me again?! That won't do…oh no." She muttered a few words and flung her hands up, encasing Rose in a thick, sticky web. Rose sighed heavily and slumped forward in the webbing.

"Kirisstind…" She tried to shake her head and managed to get some of the acidy web in her mouth. "You've got some _serious_ issues." Kirisstind grinned.

"Yes." She admitted, then leaned in close enough to Rose for the other drowess to smell her breath. "But mine aren't _half_ as serious as yours." She winked. "See, Lloth still likes _me_…" Rose's eyes widened and then narrowed sharply. She was hoping Kirisstind hadn't noticed, but deep down she knew better.

"Shit. That's kind of embarrassing…" Rose grumbled impotently and rolled her eyes. "Look, if you're gonna kill then just kill me. Okay? Let's go." She raised her head as much as she could in an effort to offer her throat. Kirisstind looked amused. Rose stared straight ahead and lamely began to say her silent goodbyes to the world; no more House, no more Lloth, no more Zoe-sex, no more Mezzen-hugs...

Mezzen!

So as to not alert Kirisstind, Rose peered over in the boy's direction with the corner of her eye. She couldn't see Slayer (that was bad) and she couldn't see the little Mezzen-lump behind him either (and that was worse). Her heart rate quickened and she momentarily felt bitter; it was sad that she was worried more about Mezzen's wellbeing than at her own...damn Lloth for knowing that. Had the boy run off as she had suggested earlier? Was he dead on the floor? Was he somewhere else in the room? She couldn't see anything past Kirisstind…

Invisible and rendered virtually brain-dead by all the commotion, Zojikoe began to realize that he'd made a good choice in rejecting the War Wizard program at Sorcere. It was no wonder why fighters were the only ones capable of doing well in such ruckus. _Just look at Dil_, Zoe thought to himself, _he's still alive right now because he's a vegetable. No thinking required. If it moves, kill it; that's it, that's all. No words to remember, no components to hunt for, no distractions…it's like running around in the Elysian fields! _

He stopped himself in his ranting and made a quick tally of what spells remained in his memory; around him, the zombies all converged upon Dil'andau, as he was the only valid target. Ka had not yet set foot on ground and every now and then a zombie violently exploded.

_Fireball? No. I can't remember how that starts…_

_ Flame strike! No. Cleric spell._

_ Dominate mind! Of what, Zoe? Dead gnomes? What the hell is wrong with you?_

_ Lightning bolt! Hell no. That'll kill us all._

_ Time stop! Ha. I wish…_

A light but insistent tug on his robes pulled him from his thoughts. He looked down, fully expecting to see a gnome there, but instead found his over-distressed adoptive son. "Mezzen!" He cried, then, remembering that he was in fact invisible at the moment, added "How come you can see me?". The panicking boy furrowed his brow and danced from foot to foot.

"I don't…I _can't_...I…Zoe!" He flustered, casting a nervous glance over his shoulder at where Rose was facing off with her sister. Zoe followed his gaze and found himself gawking at what he saw when the shifting waves of gnomes and Dil'andau's ambling form cleared from his vision.

Kirisstind had Rose trapped!

Instantly understanding Mezzen's clumsy-voiced need, the mage's mind sprung into action. "Tell me, son, did the illithids teach you to read magic scrolls?" He asked quickly, eyes scouring the floor for the 'burning hands' parchment Ka had found and offered him when the crew had first entered the chamber. He spotted it a dozen-or-so feet away from their current position, fluttering a couple inches off the floor under where Dil'andau and a trio of gnomes fought. If he could get Mezzen to go for it, he could easily get to Rose and deal with Kirisstind; he didn't want the boy with him, as that would present Rose's evil sister with a target he'd rather her not have access to.

Not that he could have explained that to the kid without inciting a fight.

"Mezzen?!" Zoe pressed when the boy didn't answer at once. He looked expectantly down at him and rolled up his sleeves, preparing his false run for the scroll.

"Yes!" Mezzen answered vehemently, nodding his shaggy-haired head. Zojikoe grinned.

"Then you and I are going to teach Rose's sister a lesson she won't soon forget!" He winked at Mezzen and started towards the thick of battle, and, as he'd been banking on, the boy gripped his robe and held him back. Zoe whipped around and put on a mock expression of frustration; to his delight (and relief), Mezzen frowned and shook his head at him.

"No, _no_, Zoe... _I'll_ go!" He scolded and offered Zoe a pleased smile before darting off into the fray.

Zoe watched the boy's retreating back for exactly two seconds before whipping off towards Rose and Kirisstind. Shoving aside the small zombies that got in his way as he hurried to the other end of the room, he found himself distracted by the tremendous pounding of his heart within his chest; he could hear it in his ears and feel it in his limbs – it was almost crippling. What in the Nine Hells was he _doing_? Was he mad? There was no way he could take Kirisstind alone! He stopped his desperate pitch about five feet from where the foul the priestess stood and steadied himself, gaze focused entirely over Kirisstind's armored shoulder, on the lingering look of abandon in Rose's eyes.

Maybe he _was_ mad.

Opposite him, a small – moving – patch of white caught Rose's attention. Kirisstind sneered and took a quick glance over her shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped. Rose furrowed her brow at the small figure that scurried about a few feet behind Kirisstind. She allowed herself a good look at it when it came back into view, hoping it was what (or rather, _who_) she thought it was.

And it was!

Mezzen's shock of white hair dipped and bobbed as he snaked through the remaining gnomish zombies at top speed, arriving finally where the disfigured Dil'andau finished slashing through his attackers. The boy ducked to avoid the shaft of Dil's halberd as he swung to find more enemies, then bent as if to pick something off the ground from between the drider's legs. Kirisstind growled and shot another look over her shoulder.

"_What?!_" She cried, annoyed now. She watched Dil'andau skitter to the side and roar at the boy who crept beneath him, then turned a vicious grin upon her sister. "You'd best stop worrying about that one." She purred, smug now. "The male's mind is that of a beast; the boy will make him a fine meal!" Even as she cackled, Rose's heart steadily filled with hope.

Dil's attention was clearly no longer focused on Mezzen; in fact, the warrior was heading for the few gnomes that remained. Mezzen, for his part, had run towards her and was now standing a bit behind Kirisstind. Rose's eyes widened slightly as she caught the boy's oddly bright gaze. Heroics were cute and all, but this was ridiculous; she silently begged Mezzen to leave, praying he'd somehow understand.

From behind Kirisstind's robe, Mezzen winked and tugged on something she could not see, turning his expectant gaze upward. An invisible hand ruffled the boy's hair.

Understanding the situation now, Rose immediately returned her attention to her sister. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to grin when she locked her eyes on her sister's. Kirisstind seemed to feel the shift in demeanor nevertheless and quickly unsheathed her sword.

"Alright, I think we've had our fun." She hissed, tensing up now that she felt something was amiss. She had barely the time to raise her sword before it was promptly wrenched from her grasp and flung aside. Infuriated, she whirled around and instinctively looked up to where Ka was levitating slowly to the ground. The psion looked impassive. Panic rising within her, she turned her gaze to Dil'andau; there were no more zombies about and the male's amber eyes were on her. She then scanned the room for Zojikoe, who was mysteriously not present.

"There was another…" She mumbled, backing clumsily away from where Rose stood trapped in her magical webbing. She glanced briefly at her sister, whose smile was now not only in her eyes.

"You talk too much." Rose said simply. "Lloth doesn't like that." Kirisstind's face fell. She knew she was beaten.

Then, there was a tap on her shoulder.

As if in a daze, the doomed priestess turned around, fully expecting to see Dil'andau's blade come down on her skull…but instead she saw Mezzen. She blinked, confused. In the second it took for her brain to wonder how the knee-high boy could have tapped her shoulder, Zojikoe flickered back into existence, a most wicked smile on his face. With a kind of sick family pride, both father and adoptive son raised their hands identically, producing two great gouts of flame that engulfed her lower and upper body.

Kirisstind screamed and threw her hands up to her face in a misguided attempt at quelling the flames. She stumbled around a bit and came dangerously close the webbing that held Rose, but before she could do the other priestess any harm, the massive, muscled form of Slayer slammed into her from the side and knocked her to the ground.

There was another scream, a growl, and then nothing.

The group, as a whole, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

_Owned!_ Rain gurgled in Ka's mind. Ka almost jumped.

_Now _that_, Rain, is what _I_ call 'the fuckening'_. She answered, nodding slowly to herself. A smile crept onto her lips and she looked around for Dil; she found him off to her left and jerked at the grotesque sight of him. _Ugh, yeah. Right._ She grumbled internally. _Forgot about that._ There was a pause, and then Zoe's voice rose up from near the entrance.

"Rose!" The mage cried, still in fight-mode. He stepped forward to take the priestess' dagger from her ensnared hand, hoping to cut her free of the web. Rose managed a cool laugh.

"Whoa, Zoe." She chuckled, relief like a cold wave washing over her. "No need to get all dramatic, now…see?" As she spoke, the webbing slowly fell apart around her, dispelled by the death of its caster. Zojikoe looked unsure, then he relaxed, hands dropping limply to his sides.

"How can you be so calm about this?" He wondered aloud, shaking his head. He felt drained; there was no better way to put it. He'd felt everything from terror to euphoria in the last few minutes and the emotional rollercoaster was not a ride he considered himself tall enough for. Rose came forward and took his hand in hers.

Her hand was shaking.

It was all the explaining he needed. Unspeakably thankful to the forces that be, he scooped her up into a tight embrace and she returned it with all sincerity.

"Ewww! Her eye is coming out!" Mezzen's voice piped from a further off. Zoe and Rose both turned to look at him, caught somewhat off guard by his perky tone. The boy was crouched beside Kirisstind's charred corpse; when his adoptive parents looked over at him, he proudly held up a round object. On the end of it, a gelatinous tendril wagged back and forth.

"See?!" He pressed, shaking what was now obviously an eyeball.

Floored, Rose nodded stiffly.

Zoe put a hand to his mouth and gagged.


End file.
